CARLISLE, Pa. - After trailing 8-2 through 15-minutes the Dickinson women's lacrosse team closed to within a goal (10-9) of the tenth-ranked Franklin & Marshall College during the third quarter on Wednesday night at Biddle Field. However, the visiting Diplomats were able to stave off the challenge using a 7-1 run over the third and fourth to secure an 18-12 Centennial Conference win.

It would be the DC keeper tasked with making the first stop of the night as Peyton VanDorpe closed the door on Lane Lambeth just over two minutes in. Dickinson actually then captured the lead just over a minute later thanks to Emma Wynne beating Alyssa Moran, but Maddy Birch responded with 10:56 left. Then, two minutes after that the two teams traded markers with Wynne setting up Liv Yeagle, before Gillian Brennan knotted the score at 2-2. The final six minutes belonged to the visitors as the group of Madison Bray, Abby Gravel, Lauren Pittman, and Brennan mounted a 6-0 run to grab an 8-2 advantage through one. 

For the second straight period the Red and White struck first with Liz Barroll cashing in on a free-position chance off a foul by Lambeth. F&M then recorded three of the next four shots with Birch solving VanDorpe for the 9-3 lead with five minutes gone. The Devils tried to fight back as Delaney Herbert (saved), Faith Parker and Yeagle (saved) tallied chances over the next few minutes, until Wynne finished off the fourth of the night. After Jenna Nowland claimed the ensuing draw Parker ripped the back of the net to pull DC within 9-5 inside the final four minutes. Birch pushed it to 10-5 a minute later, before a turnover forced by Jay Carr resulted in Nowland scoring unassisted to leave the home side behind 10-6 at halftime. 

The Red and White began the second-half like a "house of fire" as consecutive Diplomat turnovers caused by Caroline Pirone led to Riley Kuehn beating Moran, before she found Barroll for a "quick-stick" finish brought the hosts to 10-8 still with 10:34 to play. Mia Seergae claimed the following draw and got the rock to Barroll who deposited it past the F&M keeper to make it 10-9 a minute later which prompted a visiting timeout. Out of the brief break the Diplomats rallied the troops and recorded final five shots of the period scoring three times, while forcing DC into five giveaways to open up a 13-9 cushion entering the fourth. 

The Devils tried to capture the momentum right out of the gates as VanDorpe denied Lydia Cassilly 56-seconds in leading to Barroll netting her fourth of the evening. After both keepers recorded saves, Franklin & Marshall fired the next eight shots with four of them besting VanDorpe to push the margin out to 17-10 with five minutes left. Dickinson continued to fight hard with Pirone causing two more Diplomat miscues allowing Herbert to solve Moran twice to cut it down to 17-12. However, Cassilly added one more in the last minute to set the 18-12 final.

Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Barroll (4), Herbert and Wynne (2)
Assists - Kuehn, Nowland and Wynne (1)
Groundballs - VanDorpe (6), Pirone (4), Herbert, Parker and Seergae (2)
Saves - VanDorpe (7)

Diplomat Leaders
Goals - Brennan (4), Birch, Lowe and Pittman (3)
Assists - Pittman (3), Birch and Brennan (2)
Groundballs - Bray and Cassilly (3)
Saves - Moran (3)

Next on the Field
Dickinson (9-6, 3-5 Centennial) will wrap-up the regular season on Saturday afternoon at 12pm when they head to Collegeville for a conference matchup against Ursinus College.  Read Full Article