Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Second-ranked Franklin & Marshall College out-scored fourth-ranked Gettysburg College 10-4 in the second half to pull out a 16-10 Centennial Conference victory on Tuesday, April 21, and lock up the top seed for the conference tournament this weekend. Junior Nina Emala (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) recorded three goals and an assist for Gettysburg, which will enter the conference playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Each of the last six match ups between Gettysburg (13-2, 8-1 CC) and Franklin & Marshall (15-1, 9-0 CC) have featured both teams ranked in the top four of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) rankings with the Diplomats winning each instance as the higher-ranked team. Tuesday's contest opened with a goal by the hosts, but the Bullets quickly countered as Emala and junior Hollis Stahl (Highstown, N.J./Peddie School) scored back-to-back goals about a minute apart.

Franklin & Marshall answered with two goals, setting off a back-and-forth battle between the two national powers to end the half. Emala's second goal at 9:26 tied the game at 5-5 and gave the junior 100 points for her career, but the Diplomats aimed to go into the break with a lead as Laura Ruppersberger tossed in a goal with just under seven minutes left. Gettysburg had the last say of the half, however, as junior Jessica Crane (Sudbury, Mass./Sudbury-Lincoln) scored 39 seconds before the break, locking the score at 6-6 at the end of the first period.

Junior Lexie Hearn (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) tallied the opening score of the final period to stake the Bullets to a 7-6 lead. That would be the last and only lead of the second half for Gettysburg with the Diplomats netting 10 of the final 13 goals of the game. Preseason national player of the year Jen Pritchard started the run with back-to-back goals and Ashley Bevington followed with a personal four-goal run to put F&M up 12-7 with 16:07 to play.

Emala cut the margin to four (12-8) with her third score at 10:59, but the Dips reeled off another three-goal run down to the three-minute mark to pull away.

Franklin & Marshall held a 31-26 lead on shots and a 22-13 advantage on ground balls. Gettysburg controlled two more draws than the hosts (15-13), but committed three more turnovers (22-19).

Hearn tallied a pair of goals for the Bullets and added three draw controls, while Stahl paced the team with five draws. Crane tacked on an assist and a pair of ground balls. Sophomore Becky Lutz (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) led the defensive effort with three caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls.

Pritchard and Bevington each ended with four goals for Franklin & Marshall, the former adding a pair of helpers. Lauren Ehrhardt and Blake Hargest each scored twice and Shannon Summers passed out a trio of helpers and corralled six draw controls. Sarah Meisenberg had a hand in several pockets, posting one goal, two assists, four ground balls, three draw controls, and four caused turnovers.

Junior keeper Kristen Krammer (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) made 10 saves and scooped up two ground balls for Gettysburg, while her counterpart in the Diplomats' goal, Lidia Sanza, also made 10 stops and recorded six ground balls.

The Bullets and Diplomats could very well face each in a matter of days in the championship of the CC Tournament on Sunday, April 26, at 1 p.m. But first, each team will have to get by their respective semifinal opponents. Franklin & Marshall will face the winner of Wednesday's opening-round game between Dickinson College (10-6, 6-3 CC) and McDaniel College (9-7, 5-4 CC) on Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. Gettysburg will follow in the Saturday's second semifinal against No. 3 seed Muhlenberg College (10-3, 6-3 CC) at 3 p.m.