Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Liz Borucki (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) made six of her eight saves in the decisive second half and Ashley Froman (Glen Arm, MD/Loch Raven) broke a 6-all tie with 14:33 remaining to lift fourth-ranked Gettysburg over No. 13 Franklin & Marshall 8-6 in the Centennial Conference (CC) women’s lacrosse championship game on Sunday.

 After the Diplomats (12-5) erased a 6-4 halftime deficit, Borucki preserved the deadlock with three big stops in a four-minute span before Froman scored on a rebound to put the Bullets (18-1) ahead to stay. Quinn Dougherty (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) tallied a key insurance goal with 10:09 left as Gettysburg locked up its third CC championship in the past four years along with the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

 Amy Farrell (Ambler, PA/Upper Dublin) scored twice and added one assist for the Bullets, who were held to a season-low 13 shots after averaging 38 shots per game heading into Sunday’s action.

 The F&M defense also kept Gettysburg’s 100-point duo of Megan Murphy (Wilton, CT/Wilton) and Julika Blankenship (Crumpton, MD/Kent County) in check throughout the afternoon. Murphy, who entered the day with a CC-record 130 points, and Blankenship, who tallied 12 points in Saturday’s CC semfinal to give her 108 for the year, were each held to a season-low two points, all of which came on a pair of Blankenship-to-Murphy goals in the first 13:14.

 Laura Fine scored two goals for the Diplomats while Lauren Paul added a goal and an assist.

 Held to a single-digit goal total for the first time all season, the Bullets proved they could win a tight, low-scoring contest thanks to their overshadowed defensive unit.

 An unassisted goal by Paul with 2:08 gone in the second half and a free-position marker by Alexis O’Meara at 38:38 pulled F&M even at 6, but Borucki wouldn’t allow Gettysburg to fall behind. Less than a minute after O’Meara’s game-tying goal, Borucki stopped Danielle Jones on a free-position shot, the first of three huge saves that kept the game tied.

 Both Cassidy Zappacosta (Monkton, MD/Maryvale Prep) and Murphy had the apparent go-ahead goal disallowed over the next three minutes, the latter wiped out by a yellow card that sent Murphy to the bench for three minutes.

 Between the non-goals, Borucki stopped Paul from close range, then halted Allison O’Meara with 16:52 remaining.

 Gettysburg finally broke through with 14:33 left. Diplomat goalie Kamissa Mort stopped Dougherty on free-position shot, but Froman picked up the rebound and netted her third goal in two games to make it 7-6.

 Borucki kept her squad ahead with a save on Kristen Foster. Minutes later, Farrell found Dougherty all alone in front of the F&M net and Dougherty stuck her first goal in nine games for a two-goal Bullet lead with 10:09 remaining.

 From there, it fell to the Gettysburg defense to seal the victory. Borucki benefited from good fortune when Holly Rutherford hit the goal-post on a shot with 7:49 remaining. Key caused turnovers by Froman, Jess Hanson (Hunt Valley, MD/Maryvale Prep) and Kate Murphy (Wilton, CT/Wilton) kept the Diplomats off the board until the final horn.

 Two Megan Murphy goals staked the Bullets to a 3-2 lead at 13:14, but F&M rallied to go on top 4-3 when Fine and Foster found the net in a span of 34 seconds. Froman won the ensuing draw control and threaded a long pass to Kathryn Grassel (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills East), who finished to tie the game at 4.

 Katie Lowe (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) and Farrell netted unassisted goals in a 59-second span to give Gettysburg a 6-4 lead at halftime.

The Bullets’ defensive trio of Kate Murphy, Erin Pate (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) and Lindsay Barton (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) combined for 10 ground balls and six caused turnovers in the winning effort.

Despite being held out of the scoring column, Jones played a big role for F&M, picking up seven ground balls to go along with three caused turnovers and three draw controls. The Diplomats held an 11-5 edge in draw controls on the afternoon.

With the win, Gettysburg advances to the NCAA tournament for the third time in program history. The Bullets also made the NCAA field after winning CC titles in 2000 and 2002. In addition, Gettysburg became the first team to win back-to-back conference championships since Johns Hopkins in 1997 and 1998.

The NCAA tournament field will be announced on Sunday evening with first-round games slated for Wednesday.
 

CC Championship Game	1	2	-	F
#13 Franklin & Marshall (12-5)	4	2	-	6
#4 Gettysburg (18-1)	6	2	-	8

Goals:

F&M: Laura Fine 2, Kristen Foster, Alexis O’Meara, Allison O’Meara, Lauren Paul.

Gettysburg: Megan Murphy 2, Amy Farrell 2, Katie Lowe, Quinn Dougherty, Ashley Froman, Kathryn Grassel.

Assists:

F&M: Paul.

Gettysburg: Julika Blankenship 2, Froman, Farrell.
 
Shots: F&M 21, Gettysburg 13.

Ground Balls: F&M 32, Gettysburg 36.

Goalies: F&M (Kamissa Mort – 60:00, 3 saves, 8 GA), Gettysburg (Liz Borucki – 60:00, 8 saves, 6 GA).

Draw Controls: F&M 11, Gettysburg 5.

Caused Turnovers: F&M 13, Gettysburg 13.

Turnovers: F&M 23, Gettysburg 23.

Fouls: F&M 16, Gettysburg 15.

Free Position: F&M 2 of 5, Gettysburg 0 of 2.

Attendance: 400.

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