Shannon Keeler, Gettysburg
Box Score
LANCASTER, Pa. – Junior Abby Baigelman (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck) totaled seven points and sophomore goalie Shannon Keeler (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) made a season-high 11 saves as sixth-ranked Gettysburg College took out No. 2 Franklin & Marshall College 14-11 in a Centennial Conference women's lacrosse showdown at Tylus Field Wednesday night.
With the victory, Gettysburg (13-2, 7-1 CC) owns the tiebreaker over Franklin & Marshall (14-2, 7-1 CC) for the top seed and hosting rights in next week's Centennial Conference Championship. Each squad has one regular-season game remaining.
Baigelman poured in three goals and four assists for the Bullets. Senior Bridget Kenny (Gladstone, N.J./Bernards) posted four goals and four draw controls, while freshman Katie Landry (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) posted three goals. Senior Mandy Buell (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) posted two goals and an assist and grabbed a career-high six draw controls.
Keeler once again proved to be a thorn in Franklin & Marshall's side. In three career meetings with the Diplomats, the sophomore keeper has averaged 12 saves per game. She recorded six saves in the final period, including two in the final 1:24.
The hosts took advantage of a pair of Gettysburg turnovers to grab a 2-1 advantage in the early going. The deficit was short-lived as the Bullets ran off three-straight goals over the next 2:34. After a free-position goal by Kenny at 22:25, Baigelman found Landry near the goal 33 seconds later to make it a 4-2 lead.
Goals by Landry and Baigelman capped a 5-0 run to make it 6-2 just over 12 minutes in.
Gettysburg maintained a three-goal lead throughout the remainder of the first half. After Franklin & Marshall pulled to 8-5 on a goal by Anastasia Mergner, Keeler kept the Diplomats off the board with three saves in the final minutes of the first stanza.
The Bullets came storming out of the locker room in the second half. A flurry of shots eventually opened the door for a nice back-door cut by Landry for the first tally of the period at 26:40. Baigelman dished it to Kenny two minutes later to make it 10-5.
Only one out of the previous five regular-season meetings between these programs had been decided by more than two goals so Gettysburg's odds at holding a big lead were slim. The Diplomats came firing back with three scores in less than three minutes to make it 10-8 with 19:41 on the clock.
Keeler stopped F&M with saves on back-to-back possessions, but eventually the hosts came through with another tally, breaking up Gettysburg's clear attempt and turning it into a goal by Emily Everdell with 13 minutes to go.
An apparent goal by junior Maggie Connolly (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) was wiped out by an illegal stick around the 11-minute mark. Gettysburg remained focused with Keeler picking off two more would-be goals. The Bullets maintained possession of the ball for more than three minutes and the patience eventually paid off as Baigelman found Kenny for the score to make it 11-9 with six minutes to go.
Junior Amanda Borucki (Westminster, Md./North Carroll) added to the lead with a free-position goal at 4:30. The Diplomats refused to go away as Gabby Frank sliced the lead back to two (12-10) with 3:40 remaining.
Gettysburg has dominated the draw circle in recent weeks and that trend continued in the second half on Wednesday. The Bullets picked up 9-of-12 draw controls in the final period, including each of the final three. Baigelman gained possession of the next draw control and quickly converted with three minutes left.
Franklin & Marshall forced turnovers on Gettysburg's next two possessions, converting on the first to pull to 13-11 at 1:17. After another Bullet turnover with one minute to go, Keeler came up with her final save of the day on a shot by Everdell with 44 seconds left. The Bullets dodged the pressure as they cleared the ball up the field with Buell eventually finding an empty net in the waning seconds.
The all-time series between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall is now tied at 28-28-1. The two teams have combined to win each of the last 13 Centennial Conference titles and have faced each other in the conference championship in 11 of the last 12 years. By defeating the second-ranked Diplomats, Gettysburg posted a win against its highest-ranked foe since downing No. 1 College of New Jersey in 2007.
Gettysburg held a slight edge in shots at 26-25. The Diplomats led in ground balls 15-14, while the Bullets owned a 17-9 edge in draw controls.
Frank tallied three goals for the hosts, while Megan Kelly tossed in two tallies.
Wednesday Notebook
Dickinson spotted Muhlenberg an early 3-0 lead before storming back to down the Mules, 13-7. The Red Devils and Mules are not part of a four-way tie for fourth place in the Conference at 4-4. 'Berg's Steph Umbach tallied five goals and surpassed the 300-point mark for her career.
Diana Perry scored three times as Haverford defeated Ursinus, 12-7. Perry is one of just four players in program history to score 170 or more goals.
Washington College reached the 10-win mark for the fifth straight season with a 21-10 win over Swarthmore. Before that current five-year stretch, the Shorewomen had reached double-digit wins just four times in their first 29 seasons of varsity play. Emily Hubley had seven goals and an assist for WAC.