LANCASTER, Pa. - The Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team advanced to the national semifinals with a 21-1 win over the University of Mary Washington on a sunny Sunday afternoon in regional-final action of the 2007 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship at Sponaugle-Williamson Field.

The Diplomats (19-0) will face Centennial-rival Gettysburg in Geneva, N.Y. on Saturday, May 18 at 11:30 a.m. in Geneva, New York. F&M defeated the Bullets (17-3) twice this season--by a score of 9-3 on April 24 and 14-4 in the Conference championship on April 29. The other semifinal, hosted by William & Smith College, will feature Salisbury (11-7) and Middlebury (20-2) at 2:30 p.m.

Franklin & Marshall scored five goals in the first four minutes on Sunday, working much the offense from behind the net. Sophomore attack Jen Pritchard (Media, Pa. / Penncrest) and senior midfielder Kelly Cassels (Downington, Pa. / Great Valley) took turns lighting the lamp for the Diplomats with Pritchard scoring three times, Cassels dropping in two while first-year Blake Hargest (Cockeysville, Mary. / St. Paul's School for Girls) handed out two helpers.

F&M opened up a commanding 11-0 lead at the 10:50 mark, limiting Mary Washington to just three shots for the first half. Diplomats senior defender Em Gill (Yorktown Heights, NY/ Yorktown) locked down Eagles' leading scorer Kaitlyn Barker (83 goals on the season, eight scores on Saturday's regional semifinal) to zero shots.

Pritchard ended up with four goals and an assist while Cassels and sophomore Ashley Bevington (Schwenskville, Pa. / The Hill School) chipped in three goals apiece at intermission.

Eagles' junior midfielder Emily Talbot (New Canaan, Conn. / New Canaan) scored a free-position goal for Mary Washington at 20:34 in the second half. Diplomats' sophomore Shannon Summers (North Wales, Pa. / The Hill School) got the hometeam rolling again with a pair of goals and Cassels contributed two more scores as F&M pushed its lead to 17-1 with 15:30 left in the contest.

It was a banner day for the Diplomats-Hargest broke the Division III NCAA Championship Tournament record with nine assists on the day, Cassels and Pritchard scored five goals each, and the team established a season high for goals in a game (previous high 19 occurred four other times), points in a game (previous best was 34 at Bryn Mawr), assists (15 at Bryn Mawr) while holding their opponent to just one score for the first time in 2007.

F&M held a 21-3 advantage in draw controls, a 42-12 edge in shots while picking up 21 ground balls to the Eagles' 20.

Diplomats' first-year goalie Lidia Sanza made eight saves for her 19th win of the season--she has allowed only two goals in her first two NCAA Championship appearances.

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LANCASTER, PA - Top-ranked and undefeated Franklin & Marshall College limited the University of Mary Washington to no goals on just three first half shots, as the Diplomats advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four with a 21-1 victory over the Eagles. UMW closes the season with a school record 16 wins.

The Diplomats, the lone undefeated team in the nation, held a 13-0 advantage at halftime, outshooting the Eagles, 25-3, in the opening 30 minutes. Jen Pritchard scored four first half goals to lead the Dips, with Kelly Cassels and Ashley Bevington adding three goals each.

The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard with 20:34 remaining in the second half, when junior Emily Talbot scored on a free position goal. But the Diplomats would go on to score the next four goals in a span of five minutes to lead, 17-1, midway through the second half. The Dips tacked on four late goals to push the final margin to 21-1.

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2007-05-13