Game Notes

Last Time Out

F&M locked up the No. 2 seed and a first round bye in the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament. The Diplomats started their week with a hard-fought 12-11 setback against No. 8 Gettysburg in another classic showdown between the two rivals. The two teams were tied on eight occassions throughout the top 10 classic, but it was ultimately Gettysburg who scored with 1:08 left in regulation to secure the 12-11 victory. Lauren Pittman led the F&M attack with five goals, with Lane Lambeth also tallying a hat trick. Lydia Cassilly had three points with one goal and two assists while Madison Bray and Gillian Brennan also scored throughout the game. F&M goalie Alyssa Moran made 10 saves of her own in goal to anchor a defense that saw Gettysburg commit five more turnovers than the Diplomats. Megan Bizub led F&M with three caused turnovers and was one of three players who finished tied for the team lead with three ground balls.

The Diplomats bounced back with a 20-17 win at Haverford to earn their first round bye against the third-place Fords. F&M raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first quarter of that game 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. 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.

Last Time vs. Dickinson

Locking up their first round bye a week earlier this season, the Diplomats accomplished that feat during the 2023 season with an 18-12 road win at Dickinson. The Diplomats held a 24-9 edge in draw controls and nearly doubled up the Red Devils in shot attempts as they raced out to an 8-2 lead after 15 minutes and never looked back. Gillian Brennan, Maddy Birch, Sydney Lowe, and Lauren Pittman all recorded hat tricks while Lydia Cassilly added two more to the winning side. Madison Bray, Lane Lambeth, and Abby Gravel also rattled the back of the cage throughout the Centennial Conference clash under the lights.

Franklin & Marshall finished the game with a commanding 37-20 edge in shots, but the Red Devils were able to keep within striking distance behind a very efficient 7-for-8 night on free-position attempts. Lane Lambeth helped F&M dominate the restarts with nine draw controls, while teammates Ava Turner and Madison Bray finished with seven and five, respectively. Bray was additionally the team leader with three ground balls. Eight different players caused a turnover, with Alyssa Moran ultimately picking up her 12th victory of the season as she played the full 60 minutes.

Dickinson Preview

Dickinson enters the final week of the regular season in the hunt for a Centennial Conference Tournament bid at 9-5 overall (4-3 CC). After playing the Diplomats on Wednesday, the Red Devils will wrap up their regular season at home against Ursinus. Two of Dickinson's last three contests have gone to overtime as they pulled out a 12-11 win against Muhlenberg before suffering a 17-16 setback to Washington College during the team's most recent outing. Delaney Herbert leads four Red Devils who have scored at least 24 goals this season with 40 of them to her credit. She is also the team leader in assists with 18 for a total of 58 points. Sage Whiteside has won 68 draw controls for Dickinson who is basically even with its opposition in that category overall. Peyton VanDorpe has started all 14 games in goal for the Red Devils and is stopping 42.8% of the shots on goal she has faced while allowing 12.02 goals per game.

F&M Individuals in Centennial Conference Top 10

Points
1. Lydia Cassilly - 78
3. Lauren Pittman - 72
9. Gillian Brennan -59

Goals
3. Lydia Cassilly  - 51
3. Lauren Pittman - 51
7. Gillian Brennan -48
9. Lane Lambeth - 47

Assists
4. Lydia Cassilly - 27
6. Madison Bray - 23
9. Lauren Pittman - 21

Draw Controls
2. Lauren Pittman - 77

Caused Turnovers
5. Belle Dintino - 22

Ground Balls
3. Lauren Pittman - 35
5. Madison Bray - 32

Goals Against Average
3. Sara DiGiovanni - 7.80
7. Alyssa Moran - 10.22

Saves
8. Alyssas Moran - 74

Save Percentage
6. Sara DiGiovanni - .432
10. Alyssa Moran - .378