Box Score
Salem, VA… Trying to play catch up for most of the game, The College of New Jersey women's lacrosse team saw several valiant rallies come up just short as defending NCAA champion Franklin & Marshall edged the Lions in the semifinals by the score of 14-12 on Saturday in Salem, Virginia.
The Lions trailed by five goals in the first half and on two occasions by three in the second half. Each time TCNJ closed the gap to one goal, but the Diplomats never relinquished the lead allowing them to defend their title on Sunday against Hamilton College.
The Lions closed out their successful season with 17-2 record and have now appeared in the NCAA semifinals in 23 out of 24 tournaments.
In the opening half, the Lions opened the scoring just 38 seconds into the contest as senior Karen Doane (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) on a low shot that got behind F&M goalie Lidia Sanza (Cockeysville, MD/St. Paul's School for Girls).
The Diplomats tied the game, but TCNJ got the goal back less than a minute later as senior Diane Haddeland (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) cashed in on a feed from and Katie Reuther (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North).
F&M came roaring back scoring six unanswered goals over an eight-minute span to take a 7-2 lead with 10:14 left in the first half.
The Lions chipped away at that lead scoring the half's final six goals with Doane netting the first two and freshman Alison Jaeger (Hampton, NJ/North Hunterdon) the latter pair. Jaeger's second goal in the spurt came on a nice pass from Reuther and came with just 7.3 seconds before the intermission.
In the second half, TCNJ knotted the score at seven apiece as freshman Leigh Mitchell (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) scored 50 seconds in, but the Diplomats countered with a pair of quick goals to regain the lead for good.
F&M led 11-8, with the Lions roaring back with goals from Reuther and Mitchell making it a one-goal game once again.
The Diplomats, however, scored two more goals pushing the difference back to three with 10 minutes remaining.
TCNJ again battled back as Doane tacked on two more goals making it a 13-12 game with 5:46 left in regulation.
After the Diplomats made it a two-goal game, Sanza then secured the game denying Toni-Anne Cavallo (Cedar Grove, NJ/West Essex) on a free-position shot and F&M ran out the clock to move into the title game for the second straight year.
Doane finished with five goals and finished her standout career with 248 points putting her sixth on the program's all-time list.
F&M was led by Sarah Meisenberg (Severna Park, MD/Severn School) as the junior collected five goals and two assists.
Lion senior Caitlin Gregory (Winslow, NJ/Eastern) made seven saves.
Sanza finished with eight saves for the Diplomats.
