2015 Centennial Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – For the fourth consecutive season, the Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team will aim to claim the conference crown on its own turf as the Bullets host the Centennial Conference Championship on May 2-3.
Gettysburg (14-2, 8-1 CC) has won its last nine contests on the way to claiming the top seed and hosting rights for this weekend's postseason event. It will be a familiar set of faces joining the Bullets in the conference semifinals in Franklin & Marshall (15-2, 8-1 CC), Washington College (11-4, 7-2 CC), and Haverford College (11-7, 5-4 CC). The Diplomats and Shorewomen advanced to the semis for the fifth consecutive season, while the Fords return to the semifinals after a one-year hiatus.
Haverford defeated Muhlenberg College (11-7, 5-4 CC) 15-12 in Wednesday's opening round game and will draw the fourth-ranked Bullets in Saturday's first semi at noon. No. 2 Franklin & Marshall and Washington will tangle in the second game at 3 p.m.
"We are excited and proud," said Head Coach
Carol Cantele, who has posted a record of 337-97 in 23 campaigns at Gettysburg. "We have attained our goals, set prior to the start of the season, of capturing the regular season title and serving as the home site for the CC Championships."
Gettysburg has hosted the last three conference events and the friendly environment has translated into back-to-back-to-back championships. The Bullets defeated Franklin & Marshall 9-5 last spring to claim its conference-record ninth championship overall.
The Orange and Blue draws a rematch with the only Centennial team to defeat it during the regular season. Haverford pulled off a shocker with an 11-10 decision in overtime on March 21. It was the Fords' first win over Gettysburg in 21 years.
Since that setback, the Bullets have been on a mission. The team has won its last nine contests, out-scoring its foes by 109 goals. The draw circle has been a key to the success as Gettysburg has claimed nearly 72 percent of the draw controls during the streak.
"We have to have a game plan set, but we also want to remain flexible knowing that our opponents may show different looks," said Cantele. "We have to stay in the moment and play each set with clear purpose and solid execution."
The conference tournament has been dominated by Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall over the last 13 years. The two institutions have combined to win each of the last 13 championships and have met in the title game in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
"It is a solid group of teams all desiring to claim the CC title and the automatic ticket to the NCAA tournament," said Cantele. "All teams have been to the final four before and the teams will all be ready to compete."
