The Muhlenberg women's lacrosse team rallied to cut the deficit to one in the final minutes, but was unable to find that tying score, falling 9-8 to the No. 20 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats on a rainy Senior Day.
The Mules stuck with the nationally-ranked visitors all game; the three-goal margin Muhlenberg faced with five minutes to go matched the largest of the game. Junior
Alyssa Hartnett, held off the scoresheet all day while sitting on 99 career points, took a feed from senior
Ava Milia and fired it into the net to beat the shot clock on a got-to-have-it possession with 2:47 left. Hartnett's goal made it 9-7 and injected life into the rain-soaked crowd.
Two more seniors combined to bring the Mules within one 90 seconds later in rather storybook fashion.
Abba Diglio, a more defensive-minded midfielder and draw control specialist, took a clearing pass from senior goaltender
Meaghan Haughney and ran the length of the field. Upon reaching the offensive end, she passed to
Annalisa Bio, who flung it into the net to make it 9-8. That served as Bio's 30th goal of the season and Diglio's first point of the season.
Before the game, Muhlenberg honored its nine graduating players: seniors Milia, Diglio, Haughney, Bio,
Danielle Sautner,
Lauren Cherven,
Ellie Armbruster, and
Madison Figueroa, and junior Hartnett.
Hartnett's 100th career point marks the fourth time a Mule has reached the century mark in a statistic this season. Milia scored her 100th career goal earlier this year, and
Emma Youngling reached 100 career points and 100 draw controls in a season as well.
It was a defensive battle throughout, so it is fitting that this was the first time that a contest between these programs finished with a one- or two-goal difference.
