THE FACTS
No. 5 Franklin & Marshall (17-2) 12, No. 4 Gettysburg (16-3) 7
What: Centennial Conference (CC) women's lacrosse tournament championship
When: Saturday, May 3
Where: Lancaster, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Franklin & Marshall, ranked fifth in the latest IWLCA Div. III coaches' poll, used a run of four straight goals to gain separation from No. 4 Gettysburg early in the third quarter, claiming the 2025 Centennial Conference women's lacrosse championship with a 12-7 home victory.
THE LEADERS
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Camryn Epstein (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) led the Bullets with four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
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Julia Daly (McLean, Va./Langley) added two goals, two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
FOR THE FOES
• Sara Digiovanna made seven saves for the Diplomats to earn tournament most outstanding player honors.
• Lydia Cassilly led the attack with three goals and an assist.
THE REST OF THE STORY
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Julia Daly staked Gettysburg to a 1-0 lead just 2:11 into the game to begin a see-saw start to the game. Lane Lambeth tied the game with 7:10 to play before
Lauren O'Connell (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) put the Bullets back in front nearly two minutes later. Lambert retied the game before Lydia Cassilly scored in the final 26 seconds of the quarter for a 3-2 Franklin & Marshall lead.
• Daly wasted no time tying the game early in the second, winning the draw and going right to goal. Cassilly then started a three-goal Diplomat run to take a 6-3 lead, forcing a timeout with 5:58 to play in the second.
• The run extended to four straight goals with another Cassilly tally 37 seconds into the third quarter.
Maddie Passarello (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) snapped a 17-minute, 29-second scoring drought for Gettysburg before O'Connell netted her second of the day on a rebound with 3:32 showing to close the deficit to 7-5. Two Diplomat goals in a 25-second span, though, pushed the lead back to four before Passarello tallied her second with 1:27, making it a 9-6 game heading to the final period.
• Rose Dunne, however, stretched the lead right back to four in the first minute of the fourth. Much like the regular-season meeting, neither offense could do anything for most of the final quarter until Annie Marshall converted an advantage goal with 4:26 to play. Devyn Crone then tossed in an empty-net goal with 1:29 to play.
Sarah Scollin (Oreland, Pa./Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) set the final margin with 10 ticks remaining.
THE INSIDE STORY
• Franklin & Marshall won its third straight title but it was the first in the run at home and first by more than one goal.
• The Diplomats had a 29-25 edge in shots.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg will need an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, which begins on Saturday, and will learn its opening opponent when the field is released on Monday at 10:30 a.m.
