GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The script could not have been more perfectly written for Gettysburg College (16-3) Head Coach Carol Cantele's final visit to the Centennial Conference Championship finale as she watched her sixth-ranked Bullets jump out to an early lead and then keep fourth-ranked Franklin & Marshall College (16-3) from gaining any kind of momentum on the way to an 8-5 decision Sunday at Clark Field.
 
With the victory, Gettysburg secured its league-record 13th conference title and the Bullets head to the NCAA Division III Championship for the 20th time since 2000. The victory also marked the final conference title for Cantele and Associate Coach Barb Jordan, both of whom will be retiring at the end of the season.
 
"It's just a representation of 13 incredible teams, and all the teams that maybe just missed it," said Cantele. "The number represents people and opportunities and best moments, and there's nothing greater than to stand on the sidelines and watch an army of 38 women celebrate because all their efforts paid off. It's very emotional, but it's a great opportunity to celebrate a journey that we've been on since the beginning of the school year."
 
The journey could have been waylaid in the conference finals against a formidable F&M contingent. Gettysburg and F&M have accounted for the last 19 tournament titles with the two institutions squaring off in the finals all but once.
 
After beating the Diplomats in the regular season, the Bullets secured the playoff's top seed and hosted the finals, but being the host hasn't always been a benefit in conference history. The last team to host and win the CC championship on its own turf was Gettysburg in 2014.
 
"I think our game plan has always been to focus on ourselves," said CC Championship Most Valuable Player Katie Fullowan (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon), who tallied a goal, two assists, and six draw controls. "I think when we focus on ourselves, we do our best and we just kept that same mindset. That's the attitude we had going into the last time we played them and it was the same attitude we brought into this game."
 
Carrying an air of confidence and steadfast determination, the Bullets came out quickly and put the Diplomats on their heels. Sophomore Gill Cortese (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) smothered a shot by Ally Marino and the offense came back the other way with freshman Sophie Smith (Great Falls, Va./Langley) scoring the first goal at 12:05.
 
Marino tied the game less than a minute later, but the Bullets won the next three draw controls and turned each posession into offense with sophomore Caroline Sullivan (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), Fullowan, and sophomore Jordan Basso (Rye, N.Y./Rye) all scoring to push the lead to 4-1 with 9:08 left in the first quarter.
 
After F&M pulled to 4-2, Sullivan performed her magic on both ends of the field, knocking the ball away from Lydia Cassilly and then dishing to sophomore Regan Rightmire (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown STEM Academy) for a 5-2 lead late in the opening quarter.
 
 
Despite holding the lead after 15 minutes, Gettysburg remained cautious. The Diplomats had come from behind to beat Haverford College in the semis on Saturday, and Cantele and her crew of stalwarts knew their foes were capable of another comeback in the final.
 
"We always know this is the battle of all battles and we knew we just wanted to really stick to our game plan, which was everyone just does their job," stated Cantele. "No one was being asked to do any one more thing than what they've been asked all season long. We knew that we were going to have to play with a great deal of poise and composure because it's an emotional game and there's a lot riding on it."
 
The defenses dominated the next 45 minutes of play. The goalies played a key role with F&M's Emily Kitchin making five of her game-high 13 saves in the second quarter. Marino pulled the Diplomats within two goals early in the frame, but a free-position shot by Basso pushed Gettysburg back in front 6-3 at 5:42. Kitchin stonewalled Sullivan in the final second of the half to maintain the three-goal margin.
 
The third quarter played out as a war of attrition with the two teams combining for twice as many turnovers (12) as shots (6). The Bullets dominated possession of the ball, but the period's only goal came out of the stick of Marino with seven seconds left to slice the deficit down to two at 6-4.
 
Gettysburg's biggest advantage in the game came inside the draw circle. The Bullets won every draw over the final three quarters of play and finished with a 13-4 edge. Fullowan played a big role, seizing three of her team's draws in the fourth quarter as Gettysburg continued to maintain possession.  
 
"We really were focusing on being calm and composed and I thought we did an exceptional job with that," noted Cantele. "In doing so it allows you to focus on the things that you're trying to accomplish, allows you to focus on seeing the openings and seeing the open player in the transition game. Rather than focusing on nerves or emotion, we really were focusing on the task at hand and that's what we knew we needed to do."
 
On nearly identical plays, Fullowan dished to Sullivan for a pair of goals to pad Gettysburg's lead in the final frame. The final tally gave the Bullets an 8-4 lead with 3:34 left. In the waning minutes of the contest, Cortese came up with two big saves, the last on a shot by Marino with 62 seconds left. Marino would eventually score with 10 seconds remaining, but it was too little, too late to save the Diplomats from defeat.
 
"I think once we got that seventh goal it was comforting," said Fullowan. "F&M is a strong program. We know never to doubt them. I think once it hit that last minute, and we saw our goalie Gill came up with a huge save, that's when I looked over to Jordan and just had the biggest smile on my face because it hit me that it was going to happen."
 
As the horn sounded, the players on the field and on the sideline converged near midfield to celebrate the victory and Gettysburg's first conference title since 2019. As the team returned to the sideline, Cantele was the recipient of a ceremonial cooler bath.
   

Fullowan, who scored four goals and grabbed five draw controls in Saturday's win over Washington College, was named the Tournament MVP.
 
"Obviously it feels nice to get recognition, but I couldn't have done it without everybody else," said the junior. "Every single person on this team makes it happen. It's not one person individually that's doing everything. I'm so proud of us for beating them not only in the regular season, but also in the championship because it hasn't been done in forever, and I just really wanted to do it for Coach."
 
Sullivan finished with three goals and one assist, while Basso posted two goals and two caused turnovers. Junior Kaitlyn Bergen (Millstone, N.J./Allentown) logged two caused turnovers and Cortese finished with three ground balls and eight saves.
 
Marino accounted for four goals for F&M, which will likely see its season continue as an at-large selection to the NCAA playoffs. Marissa McGarrey scored a goal and caused two turnovers. Mary Pat McKenna totaled four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
The 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship field will be announced on Monday, May 9, at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com. The opening rounds of the event will take place on May 14-15 followed by regionals on May 21-22. The semifinals and championship will be held on May 28-29 at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Va.
 
After missing the NCAA postseason in the last two years, Gettysburg returns with high hopes of making another deep run. The team has appeared in the national semifinals seven times since 2006 and has won three national titles in 2011, 2017, and 2018.