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GETTYSBURG, Pa. – There is a place and a time for everything, and for the Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team that place is Clark Field and that time is this weekend when the team embarks on the quest for its first national championship.

Gettysburg has been to the national semifinals four times in the last five seasons, but this time around things are a bit different as the semis and championship for NCAA Division III will be played on the team's very own Clark Field. The comfort of a familiar playing area could be the minor detail that helps the Bullets overcome talented and experienced teams out of Salisbury University (19-1), Franklin & Marshall College (16-3), and Hamilton College (20-0).

“I've got a different feeling and I think a lot has to do with the venue that we're playing in,” noted Head Coach Carol Cantele. “The one thing that separates these teams is this is our home field and that is huge. We know every nook and cranny of this place and I think that's an advantage going in.”

Since beginning play on Clark Field in 2005, Gettysburg has put up an impressive record of 49-7 at home, including a 5-1 record in the NCAA Tournament. This past weekend in the regional championships, the Bullets turned in a dominating display by thrashing Babson College (18-5) and Trinity (Conn.) College (17-3) to earn a spot in the semifinals.

Franklin & Marshall enters the weekend as the defending national champ and handed Gettysburg its only loss over the final month of the season with a 9-8 overtime decision in the finals of the Centennial Conference Tournament. Hamilton was crowned national champ in 2008 and is unbeaten in 2010, while Salisbury has finished runner-up in two of the last three years.

“They know what it involves and there's no mystique playing in a championship game since they've experienced it,” stated Cantele. “I think it's going to come down which team is going to bring their complete game from end-to-end that captures it because in my mind every team is more than capable of winning it.”

“When you look at championships, you usually see teams that are newcomers or underdogs, or the top dog, and while you can look at people's records, I really think that every team that is in this event is very similar in their opportunity to attain, mainly because we were all there last year as well. It's just going to be the team that can sustain great play throughout all 60 minutes and make the least amount of mistakes.”

Mistakes have been few and far between for Gettysburg over the course of the season. The Bullets have suffered only three losses to top-10 foes and are coming off a weekend which Cantele cites as the best lacrosse she has seen at Gettysburg since becoming head coach in 1993.

Gettysburg's recipe for success centers on a core of 10 seniors that have made three trips to the NCAA Championships, including last season when the squad fell 11-10 to Salisbury. The recent graduates have been near the top of Division III for many years and all of them are ready to conclude their collegiate playing careers on Clark Field this weekend on a positive note.

“They know each other so well and they're so comfortable with one another, so they know their tendencies,” said Cantele. “They just know how to communicate in a way that gets the best out of the unique styles that all 10 of them have. They're a very dynamic group, a lot of different personalities, but they all have one mission in mind and that's to bring home a national championship.”

Among Gettysburg's talented senior class are returning All-Americans Hollis Stahl (Hightstown, N.J./Peddie School) and Nina Emala (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr). Stahl was tabbed CC Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and poured in nine goals in Gettysburg's first two NCAA wins, while Emala was a first-team all-conference pick and has tallied six goals and two assists in the playoffs. First-team All-CC selection Jessica Crane (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) has been a major factor for Gettysburg this spring and is just four caused turnovers shy of the school's single-season record.

The Orange and Blue wouldn't be in the position it is in if not for the efforts of senior goalie Kristen Krammer (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg), who stopped 17 shots combined against Babson and Trinity. She enters the weekend third in Division III in goals against average (6.94).

The seniors tend to dominate the headlines, but there's more to Gettysburg than just a veteran lineup. Many newcomers and underclassmen have stepped up in 2010, not the least of which is first-team all-conference junior defender Becky Lutz (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) and sophomore attacker Hannah Church (Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales Academy). Lutz has a team high seven ground balls in the NCAA playoffs, while Church is tied with Stahl for the team lead with 10 points.

“Everybody has found their niche and fortunately it wasn't all the same,” said Cantele. “I think they really began to realize that together we can achieve more than just 'what can I do'. It's nice to know you don't have to carry the whole burden, or the whole responsibility of the attack or of the draw unit or of the goalkeeping and defense. There are a lot of people who can help serve the greater good.”

Hamilton and F&M open Saturday's semifinal round at 11 a.m. followed by Gettysburg and Salisbury at 2 p.m. The two winners will square off for the national title at noon on Sunday.