Release courtesy of Franklin & Marshall Athletic Communications

HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team captured its fourth consecutive Centennial Conference Championship with a 7-5 victory against top-seeded Haverford on Sunday afternoon. The win avenges the Diplomats' only conference loss of the season and gives them the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Defense led the way and fittingly enough it was Belle Dintino who was named the Centennial Conference Tournament MVP after she finished these two playoff games with a combined 11 draw controls, 10 ground balls, and nine caused turnovers. The Diplomats allowed just 17 shots in total versus the Fords as Sara DiGiovanni – last year's tournament MVP – made eight saves while facing 13 shots on goal.

The two sides were tied at four-all heading into the fourth quarter. Despite the close contest throughout, the Diplomats never trailed. Sophie Harris emerged as the leader of the attack as she scored four goals during the championship victory. Rose Dunne and Harris gave the Diplomats an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter as the Fords did not score until the 11:06 mark of the second. Brooke Epstein led Haverford with three goals of her own, tying the score at both two and three-all during the opening half.

Devyn Crone's first of two goals had F&M up 3-2 during the second quarter. Harris really began to take the reigns during the second half as she scored the first goal of the third off a pass from Lauren Pittman. Harris then finished a pair of passes from Annie Marshall just over two minutes apart during the fourth quarter to give the Diplomats a lead they would not relinquish. Crone's second goal of the afternoon made it 7-4 with just over minutes to play before the defense continued to lock down to seal the win.

Franklin & Marshall finished with a 21-17 advantage in shots. The Diplomats' defense caused 11 of Haverford's 16 turnovers. Sydney Birchard led those efforts with four caused turnovers while tying Dintino for the team lead with four ground balls. Dintino secured four ground balls, caused three turnovers, and won three draw controls. Harris also caused two turnovers in addition to her four-goal outing. F&M also enjoyed a 10-4 advantage in draw controls for the contest.

The Diplomats will now find out their path in the NCAA Division III Tournament on Monday as the selection show will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 10:30 a.m.