Game Notes

Last Time Out

Franklin & Marshall closed out an undefeated home regular season with a 16-6 last Wednesday against Dickinson. The Diplomats will now be back at home to start the Centennial Conference Tournament as they host Haverford on Friday night at 5 p.m. The last regular season home game of the year was a night of highlights for two seniors to hit personal milestones as Gillian Brennan and Madison Bray registered the 200th and 100th points of their respective careers. Needing just one point for the Century mark, Bray accomplished that feat when she scored an advantage goal just under four minutes into the contest which was fittingly enough set up by Brennan. Brennan hit her personal milestone with 90 seconds to go in the first half as she had three goals and two assists during the first 30 minutes of play which also gave the hosts their first double-digit lead of the night.

On the strength of a 28-8 advantage in shots during the first 30 minutes, the Diplomats finished the Centennial Conference contest with a 36-21 edge in total shots, while owning a dominant 18-6 advantage in draw controls. Alyssa Moran was strong in goal as she stopped seven of the 12 shots on goal she faced before Sara DiGiovanni made one more save during her appearance in the middle of the fourth quarter. In addition to her hat trick, Lambeth was very strong on the restarts as she secured six draw controls, with Sarah Bowyer and Pittman each adding four to F&M's commanding advantage. Defender Belle Dintino was outstanding in transition as she caused five turnovers and collected three ground balls while the Diplomats held Dickinson to 13-of-20 on its clearing attempts. Adding to her own milestone night, Bray collected a team-best five ground balls.

Last Time vs. Haverford

The nationally-ranked Diplomats and Fords will be meeting for the second time in less than two weeks when they face off in the 5 p.m. semifinal matchup. When these teams met during the regular season, the Diplomats officially clinched their first round bye in the Centennial Conference Tournament on the strength of a 20-17 victory.  The Diplomats raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. 

Lydia Cassilly led four hat tricks for the high-powered Diplomats' attack as she scored five goals and dished out two more assists for a total of seven points. Both Lauren Pittman and Gillian Brennan registered six points as they each scored four goals and assisted on two others. Lane Lambeth had the final hat trick with her three goal performance as eight different Franklin & Marshall players found the back of the cage. Haverford had a pair of 3-0 runs during the second period, but back-to-back goals from Brennan – along with Cassilly's fourth tally of the opening half – kept F&M in front 11-7 at the break. Cassilly's fourth goal of the contest started a span that extended into the third quarter when F&M scored eight of the next 10 goals and led by a game-high nine, 18-9, late in the third quarter before the Fords closed the gap late.

Franklin & Marshall finished the contest with a 41-30 advantage in shots. Cassilly scored during her only five shots of the afternoon, while the Diplomats' four leading goal scorers tallied 16 goals with just 20 shots on goal from that lethal quad combination. The Diplomats also held the edge in restarts with a 23-18 advantage in draw controls, led by a team-best seven DCs from Sarah Bowyer. Pittman added four draw controls and three ground balls to her well-rounded effort.

Haverford Preview

The third-seeded Fords got their postseason off to a strong start with a 17-4 victory against sixth-seeded Dickinson to start the Centennial Conference Tournament. Haverford enters the week as the No. 23 team in the country according to the latest IWLCA national rankings. Brooke Epstein has been the Fords' top offensive threat with 59 goals and 20 assists through the team's first 17 games. She has scored 14 of those goals on free-position attempts. Tiffany Mikulis adds 38 goals to the attack, with Kylie McNamara contributing 26 more goals to date. Seven different Haverford players have scored double digit goals this season as the team is averaging 12.65 goals per game. Haverford is minus 30 for the year in draw controls, with Mikulis' 60 draw controls leading her team in that category. Eva Bumann (28 CTs) and Lizzie Healey (24 CTs) are the top players to watch on defense, with goalie Lizzie Symonds stopping 48.1 percent of the shots on goal that she has faced while allowing 9.77 goals per game.

F&M Individuals in Centennial Conference Top 10

Points
2. Lydia Cassilly - 80
4. Lauren Pittman - 76

Goals
5. Lauren Pittman - 55
7. Lydia Cassilly - 53
8. Gillian Brennan - 52
9. Lane Lambeth - 50

Assists
4. Lydia Cassilly - 27
8. Madison Bray - 24

Draw Controls
3. Lauren Pittman - 81

Caused Turnovers
3. Belle Dintino - 27

Ground Balls
6. Lauren Pittman - 38
7. Madison Bray - 37

Goals Against Average
3. Sara DiGiovanni - 7.75
6. Alyssa Moran - 9.93

Saves
9. Alyssas Moran - 81

Save Percentage
6. Sara DiGiovanni - .435
10. Alyssa Moran - .389