Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. - No. 2 Franklin & Marshall College retained the Centennial Conference trophy and punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament with a 14-6 victory over fourth-ranked Gettysburg College in the conference tournament championship game at the North Campus Athletic Field on Sunday.

Franklin & Marshall (16-1) earned the conference's automatic qualifier to the national tournament and earned its second consecutive CC championship with the win, while Gettysburg (17-3) will likely receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection committee will name the entire field next Sunday (May 4) with the first round taking place May 7.

The Bullets took control of the game in the early going as senior Megan Moore (Chestertown, Md./Gunston Day School) split the defense and tallied an unassisted score just 47 seconds in. The lead held for five minutes until Blake Hargest hooked up with Jen Pritchard for the equalizer at 24:43. That goal kicked off a 4-0 run by the hosts with the last score coming on a free position shot by Meredith Lussier at 13:24.

Moore cut the margin to 4-2 with her second goal at 12:32, but the Diplomats took control down the stretch, netting three of the final four goals of the half to head into the break with a 7-3 lead.

The two teams exchanged a pair of goals to start the final period and maintain the four-goal margin. Pritchard and Devi Hensch came up with Franklin & Marshall's goals, while senior Katie Ceglarski (Darien, Conn./Darien) and sophomore Hollis Stahl (Highstown, N.J./Peddie School) found the back of the net for Gettysburg, the last of which trimmed the lead to 9-5 with 18:32 to play.

The Bullets pressed the issue defensively over the latter half of the final period, sending two defenders to mark the ball carrier, but each time the Diplomats seemed to find the open man at the right moment for the score. Franklin & Marshall reeled off a 4-0 run down to 6:06 to take a 13-5 advantage. Gettysburg answered only once in the final five minutes with Moore's third goal of the afternoon, while the Dips closed out the victory with a score with just three ticks on the clock.

Statistically, both teams were evenly matched with Franklin & Marshall holding a slight edge in shots (29-22) and ground balls (11-10) and the two squads splitting the 22 draws (11-11). The Dips handled the Bullet defensive pressure well during their offensive possessions, often converting after several minutes of crisp passing around the outside of the eight-meter arc.

Moore tallied her second hat trick in as many days for Gettysburg, converting all three of her shot attempts. Ceglarski and senior Krissy Browning (Baldwin, Md./Fallston) each tallied one goal and one assist, while Stahl tossed in one score and corralled three draw controls. Sophomore Nina Emala (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) dished out a pair of assists and fellow classmate Nicole Ditillo (Baldwin, Md./Fallston) notched two draw controls and two caused turnovers. Sophomore goalkeeper Kristen Krammer (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) made six saves in the loss.

Pritchard ended the day with five goals and three assists and Shannon Summers tacked on four goals for the Diplomats. Meredith Lussier scored three times and added an assist, while Hargest and Sarah Meisenberg dished out three assists, the latter adding a goal as well. Pritchard also picked up a game-high six draw controls. Lidia Sanza made three saves in between the pipes for the Dips.