Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Gettysburg College weathered an opening run by host Franklin & Marshall College to close the gap to one early in the second period, but the second-ranked Diplomats tallied six unanswered goals to pull away for a 14-7 victory and their third consecutive Centennial Conference women's lacrosse championship on Sunday, April 26, at North Campus Athletic Field.

Franklin & Marshall (17-1) received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament with the win, while No. 4 Gettysburg (14-3) will wait to see if it receives an at-large selection to the national playoffs. The selection committee will announce the tournament's field next Sunday, May 3.

The Diplomats, despite running a virtual marathon in its 14-12 semifinal victory over Dickinson College on Saturday, looked to run away in the opening minutes, scoring four goals just 4:12 into the contest. The hosts made it a 5-0 lead as Shannon Summers converted a pass from Sarah Meisenberg at 13:51.

Gettysburg had chances to get on the board, but its shots were turned away each time by Diplomat keeper Lidia Sanza, the nation's leader in goals against average. Junior Lexie Hearn (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) finally cracked the board with a free position goal at 12:33.

After F&M turned in a free position score of its own, the Bullets cut into the deficit with back-to-back goals to end the period. Junior Hollis Stahl (Highstown, N.J./Peddie School) threaded a shot past Sanza at 9:18 and Hearn again found the back of the net with just over three minutes remaining, cutting the margin to 6-3 at the break.

Jen Pritchard notched the first goal of the final period to put Franklin & Marshall up 7-3, but Gettysburg countered with its first significant run of the contest, netting three goals in under four minutes. Junior Nina Emala (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) had a hand in two goals, scoring the first and assisting on the third by junior Lauren Woodman (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver), while Hearn completed her hat trick with the middle score to pull the Bullets to 7-6.

Gettysburg controlled the very next draw only to turn the ball over to the hosts. The Diplomats made the visitors pay for the turnover as Shannon Summers ducked under a pair of defenders and found Blake Hargest for a one-timer in front of the goal at 22:10. F&M continued to build its momentum as Meredith Lussier added back-to-back goals followed by three more Diplomat scores, taking the score to 13-6 with seven minutes to play.

Any counterattack by the visitors was stopped cold by Sanza, who posted eight of her game-high 14 saves in the final period. Emala managed to sneak a goal in at 6:42 to pull to 13-7, but Franklin & Marshall took possession of the ball shortly after the ensuing draw and played keep-away for most of the remaining time, eventually closing with the final goal with under a minute left.

The Bullets out-shot the Diplomats 29-26, but the hosts held a 13-10 advantage off the draw, an advantage that diminished slightly late in the contest.

Hearn posted three goals on eight shots in addition to grabbing three ground balls and two draw controls. Emala posted two goals, two assists, and two draw controls. Defensively, junior Anna Scanlan (Lutherville, Md./Roland Park Country School) led the team with three caused turnovers and Stahl added a pair of caused turnovers to go with her score. Junior goalkeeper Kristen Krammer (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) posted six saves for the Orange & Blue.

Blake Hargest scored four goals and added an assist and Meredith Lussier notched three goals and one helper for the Diplomats. Summers scored once and posted team highs with four assists, three ground balls, five draw controls, and two caused turnovers.