Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Amy Farrell (Ambler, PA/Upper Dublin) scored four goals and fellow senior Julika Blankenship (Crumpton, MD/Kent County) collected a game-high seven points, lifting fifth-ranked Gettysburg to its third consecutive Centennial Conference (CC) women’s lacrosse championship via a 14-8 win over Franklin & Marshall on Sunday.

 Farrell, who tallied nine goals on 12 shots during the two-day tournament, scored a goal in each of the Bullets’ twin six-goal runs that sealed the program’s fourth CC title in the past five seasons. Blankenship posted a hat trick and dished out four assists, becoming the first player in program history to record 300 career points.

 With the conference crown, Gettysburg (17-2) earned its fourth berth in the NCAA tournament. The NCAA field will be announced on Sunday evening with first-round action slated for Wednesday.

 Kathy Delauney (Lutherville, MD/Roland Park Country School) also scored three times on the afternoon, finishing the weekend with a tournament-high 11 goals. Delauney will enter NCAA play one goal shy of her first 50-goal season.

 Bullet goalie Liz Borucki (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) made six saves to secure her third championship ring. Paced by junior Kate Murphy (Wilton, CT/Wilton), who scooped a game-high eight ground balls, the Gettysburg defense held the Diplomats (10-8) scoreless for stretches of 17 and 25 minutes, including the first 22:18 of the second half.

 Kiki Foster scored twice and dished out two assists for F&M, which was making its second consecutive championship-game appearance. Virginia Rollins chipped in with two goals and one assist for the Diplomats.

 Unlike last season’s nail-biting 8-6 Bullet victory, the 2004 championship game provided fewer nervous moments as the defending champions moved steadily toward another coronation.

 Allison O’Meara gave F&M an early 1-0 lead with a goal at 3:20, but Gettysburg scored the next six to take command.

 Murphy started the Bullets’ first scoring play by blocking a free-position attempt by Beverly Menghetti, scooping the ground ball and carrying into Diplomat territory. Moments later, Delauney ripped a shot past Kim Pleasants to tie the game at 1.

 A Murphy ground ball also led directly to Gettysburg’s second goal, netted on a nifty solo move by Blankenship at 9:05 to give her team the lead for good. Delauney converted a free-position attempt and Blankenship scored off a Jenn Kelly (Westbury, NY/Carle Place) assist exactly midway through the half to make it 4-1.

 Farrell one-timed a high-arching feed from Blankenship at 16:21 to extend the margin to four and force an F&M timeout. Less than a minute after the stoppage, however, Delauney capped her hat trick and the 6-0 run off another Blankenship set-up.

 A free-position goal by Kelly Cassels at 20:47 snapped the Diplomats’ scoring drought, but a second Blankenship-to-Farrell connection restored the Bullets’ five-goal lead and gave Blankenship her 300th career point.

 Foster set up Cassels, then scored from the 8-meter arc to cut the deficit to 7-4 with three minutes left in the half.

 Gettysburg had the last word before halftime thanks to Cassidy Zappacosta (Monkton, MD/Maryvale Prep), who switched hands while catching a Blankenship pass before zipping a left-handed shot past Pleasants with 36 ticks left.

 Goals from Farrell and Blankenship pushed the lead to 10-4 and the Bullet defense took over from there.

Borucki made a free-position save on O’Meara, then blanked Cassels minutes later to keep F&M at arms’ length. Following an 11-minute scoreless stretch on both sides, Elyse Goldweitz (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) forced a turnover and Kelly finished off a cross-field feed from Katie Lowe (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) to make it 11-4 with 15:58 remaining.

Kelly and Lowe followed with two goals in a span of 1:55 to end any hopes of a Diplomat comeback.

Blankenship finished the day with 302 career points while becoming the fourth Bullet to record 100 points in a single season. Her 105 points is the third-best total in program history, next to her own 121 in 2003 and Megan Murphy’s 140 last season.

O’Meara and Cassels scored two goals apiece for the Diplomats while Pleasants finished with seven saves.
 

CC Championship	1	2	-	F
Franklin & Marshall (10-8)	4	4	-	8
#5 Gettysburg (17-2)	8	6	-	14

Goals:

F&M: Kiki Foster 2, Virginia Rollins 2, Allison O’Meara 2, Kelly Cassels 2.

Gettysburg: Amy Farrell 4, Julika Blankenship 3, Kathy Delauney 3, Jenn Kelly 2, Katie Lowe, Cassidy Zappacosta.

Assists:

F&M: Foster 2, Rollins, Eileen Keever, Alexis O’Meara.

Gettysburg: Blankenship 4, Lowe 2, Kelly, Dawn Mennen, Ellie Shihadeh.

Shots: F 21, G 29.

Ground Balls: F 21, G 32.

Goalies: F (Kim Pleasants – 60:00, 7 saves, 14 GA), G (Liz Borucki – 60:00, 6 saves, 8 GA).

Draw Controls: F 17, G 7.

Caused Turnovers: F 7, G 9.

Turnovers: F 23, G 16. Fouls: F 18, G 18.

Free Position: F 2 of 6, G 2 of 6.
 

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