Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
The Franklin and Marshall Diplomats women’s lacrosse team has made three consecutive Division III National Championship games. On Tuesday, the defending national champions were efficient on offensive and suffocating on defensive en route to a 17-7 victory over the homestanding Swarthmore Garnet.
Franklin and Marshall, the second-ranked team in the country, scored the first five goals of the game and never looked back. Marie Mutryn ’12 highlighted the Garnet offensive with five goals.
Looking for their first Conference victory of the season, Swarthmore (6-3, 0-4 CC) scored three of the next four goals midway through the first half to cut the score to 6-3. Emily Evans ’11 opened the scoring for Swarthmore before Mutryn would score the next two. But by the end of the first half, Franklin and Marshall had added four more goals and led 10-4.
Out of halftime, Franklin and Marshall would go on a 6-0 run before the Garnet would answer with three of their own. The final Diplomat goal came with just .2 seconds remaining the clock.
The Diplomat offensive was patient and creative, setting up one-time goals on backdoor cuts and using spacing to create penetration lanes. Senior attacker Blake Hargest tallied her 300th career point for the Diplomats as she ended the game with three goals and five assists. Hargest is the defending Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
Swarthmore’s senior goaltender Allison Grein finished with nine saves. Franklin and Marshall outshot the Garnet 29-21 and committed 11 turnovers compared to Swarthmore’s 13.
The Garnet returns to action on Thursday afternoon as they host Widener at 4PM from Clothier Field. The team returns to Centennial Conference play when it hosts Bryn Mawr on Saturday at 1PM.