Game Notes

Last Time Out

Franklin & Marshall made it three straight Centennial Conference Championships with a 12-7 win versus rival Gettysburg last week to clinch the conference's automatic qualifying spot to the NCAA Tournament. The Diplomats' three consecutive titles marked just the second time in program history (2007-11) that they had won three in a row. The team's 11th Centennial Conference Championship in program history made if four championships during the past five years. It was the first time since 2011 that F&M had gone undefeated in conference play during the regular season and won the conference tournament in the same year.

It was a dominant day defensively for the Diplomats who were led by Centennial Conference Tournament MVP Sara DiGiovanni as she stopped 11 of the 18 shots on goal that she faced. That included holding Gettysburg scoreless on its five free-position shot attempts. Lydia Cassily led the team in scoring for the second consecutive postseason game with her hat trick, while Lane Lambeth, Alexandra Proefrock, and Lauren Pittman each scored twice. Franklin & Marshall outscored the Bullets during three of the four quarters and never trailed after Lane Lambeth's second goal of the game tied the score at two-all during the first quarter.

Lucy Rogers and Izzy Deubner bolstered the defensive efforts with three and two caused turnovers, respectively, as they were among six Diplomats who forced a turnover as the Bullets were just 19-of-25 on their clearing attempts and turned the ball over 22 times. Lauren Pittman led the team with six draw controls and was one of six F&M players with multiple GBs. Cassilly and Lambeth led those efforts with three ground balls each.

Last Time vs. Messiah

The Diplomats and Falcons have met in every season since their first-ever matchup in 2011. Earlier this year, Franklin & Marshall scored the first 12 goals versus the then-No. 23 Falcons en route to a 17-5 non-conference victory. Devyn Crone had a huge day with 10 points as she scored four goals and assisted on six others. Those 10 points tied for the seventh-highest single-game total in school history and were the most since Paige Moriarty tallied 10 points during the 2016 game with McDaniel. Crone's six helpers were the most since the 2019 season and tied for the eighth-highest total in program history. Lauren Pittman added four goals to her five-point evening as six different Diplomats finished with multiple goals. The group included Annie Marshall who scored the first two goals of her collegiate career.

Croyne had her hat trick just over six minutes into the contest as she scored twice during the first two minutes and added her third goal with 8:54 to play in the opening quarter. Pittman put the finishing touches on her hat trick with 5:55 to play in the opening half. Adde Hollander, Alexandra Proefrock, and Lane Lambeth also scored during the initial 12-0 run as the Diplomats forced the running clock with just under three minutes off the game clock in the second period. Another highlight of the attack was Lydia Cassilly who scored two goals in the second half in addition to three assists for a five-point night.

The Diplomats dominated on the draw as they won 18 of the 25 restarts. Julia Carbon was a huge factor in that success as she had 12 draw controls to tie her for the second-highest single-game total in school history. She was just two shy of Pittman who set the school's single game record with 14 draw controls at Salisbury during the 2024 season. Lucy Rogers and Cassilly each caused a pair of turnovers during the win as F&M limited Messiah to just 7-of-13 on its clearing attempts.

Last Time vs. Mount Union

The Diplomats scored nine unanswered goals during the second half to defeat Mount Union 14-3 in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament.  F&M opened the scoring early in the first as Grace Saliba found Gabby Frank in front to give the Diplomats a 1-0 lead with 25:32 on the clock. Paige Moriarty extended the lead with a pair of quick goals, taking a feed from Anastasia Mergner at 23:57 before Samantha Blicht found Moriarty at 22:12 to make the score 3-0. Mount Union stopped the F&M run at 17:35 with a free position goal before closing the gap to 3-2 with 15:09 remaining in the opening frame. The Purple Raiders tied the score at 3-3 with 7:13 to go, but goals from Claire Jackson at 4:21 and Saliba with 22 seconds left gave the Diplomats a 5-3 edge at halftime.

It was all F&M in the second half as the Diplomats continued its run from the first and extended the Raiders scoring drought to more than 37 minutes. Saliba, Maddie Hughes, Caroline Kolva and Claire Jackson led F&M on a 4-0 spurt in the first nine minutes of action before Mergner found Moriarty at 17:25 for a 9-3 lead. Jackson made it 10-3 and Frank connected with Saliba a minute later to put the Diplomats up 11-3. Stephanie Speese led the defense with five ground balls and four caused turnovers and Blicht added four caused turnovers as well. Vanessa Budd had three caused turnovers and three draws and Mergner added four ground balls. Moriarty finished with four goals and one assist; Saliba had two scores with two helpers and Jackson netted three scores for the Diplomats. Mergner had a goal and two assists; Frank scored once with an assist, while Delinsky, Kolva and Hughes all finished with a score.

Messiah Preview

The Falcons are 13-5 on the year and claimed the last at-large spot in the field by virtue of the NCAA's Rating Percentage Index (RPI). Messiah fell to Stevenson in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals by a 10-8 score after defeating the Mustangs during the regular season. Messiah's highest ranked win of the season came when it defeated Salisbury by a 10-9 score in overtime on April 16. Messiah had nine All-MAC Commonwealth selections this season, led by Grace Pettitt (co-attacker of the year) and Emma Haag (defender of the year) while head coach Heathey McKay was named the conference's coach of the year. Pettitt leads Messiah with 72 points on 31 goals and 41 assists. Haag is a now a four-time first-team all-conference selection. She led the Falcons with 77 draw controls, 57 caused turnovers, and 67 ground balls.

Hayley Lettinga joined Pettitt and Hagg on the All-MAC first team. Jordan Lewicki, Hannah Gawne, Katie Bukiewicz, Addyson Wagman, and Grace Hejeebu earned spots on the All-MAC second team while Annalise Keitel earned an honorable mention. Lettinga leads the Falcons with 55 goals scored, including five game-winning goals. Hejeebu started 16 games for Messiah while posting a 12-4 record. She allowed just 7.57 goals per game and stopped 44.3 percent of the shots that she faced. The Falcons are making their 12th appearance all time in the NCAA Tournament.

Mount Union Preview

Mount Union advanced to the NCAA Tournament after earning the Ohio Athletic Conference's automatic qualifying bid with a 13-8 victory over John Carroll. The Purple Raiders are 14-4 on the season. They will be making their eighth overall trip the NCAA Tournament this weekend. Katie Clark was named the OAC's Offensive Player of the Year, while Abby Lindkvist was named the conference's goal of the year. All three coaches at this weekend's regional site were named their conference's coach of the year, with Beth Snider winning that award for Mount Union.

Clark currently has 118 point on the year having scored 42 goals and assisting on 76 more. Ella Nejad and Eden Kesler are the team's leading scorers with 68 and 56 goals,  respectively. Kessler is also leading the team with 97 draw controls and 33 caused turnovers, as one of four players with at least 20 caused turnovers this season. Nejad is second on the team with 97 draw controls. Lindkvist has started all 18 games for the Purple Raiders this season. She is allowing just 9.07 goals per game and stopping 50.3 percent of the shots that she has faced.

F&M Individual & Team Rankings in NCAA National Rankings

Team Rankings

• 6. Win percentage (.895)

• 9. Save percentage (.530)

• 19. Clearing percentage (.874)

• 28. Scoring defense (7.89)

• 31. Draw control percentage (.590)

• 50. Free-position percentage (.500)

• 51. Scoring margin (+5.84)

• 54. Shot percentage (.475)

• 56. Assists per game (6.95)

Individual Rankings

Lydia Cassilly

• 66. Points (82)

Devon Crone

• 45. Assists (42)

• 60. Assists per game (2.21)

Lauren Pittman

• 67. Goals (58)

• 81. Points (80)

Sara DiGiovanni

• 6. Save percentage (.535)

• 19. Goals against average (7.92)

• 28. Saves (162)

• 86. Saves per game (8.53)