GAMBIER, Ohio (May 20, 2023) – The 2023 Denison University women's lacrosse season concluded on Saturday as the Big Red fell to No. 8 nationally-ranked Franklin & Marshall College by a final score of 15-6 during the third round of the NCAA Tournament hosted at Kenyon College.

It was the third meeting between Denison (11-11 overall) and Franklin & Marshall (17-4) in the NCAA Tournament, and it was a good start for the Big Red as Mary Daniel won the opening draw control of the game and Allaire Kotz scored first just 39 seconds in.

Over the next nine-plus minutes, Denison had opportunities to add to its lead as both teams hit the crossbar once and Caroline O'Dea made two saves, but instead, back-to-back free position shots by the Diplomats allowed them to tie it with just under five minutes left in the opening quarter.

In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Bridget Sheehy answered a second goal by F&M just over a minute later to tie it at 2-2 and O'Dea made her third save of the opening period, but a costly turnover by Denison combined with its second yellow card of the first quarter led to the second free position goal on another man-up opportunity for F&M to make it 3-2 heading into the second quarter.

Denison won four of six draw controls in the first quarter and O'Dea continued her strong play with two more saves in the first two minutes of the second quarter, but the third free position goal for the Diplomats made it 4-2 with 11:13 left in the first half.

F&M scored again just 37 seconds later and ultimately led it 7-2 in the final five minutes of the second quarter after a 5-0 run that did not end until a great spin move and score by Maddie Morrell with 2:15 on the clock.

Denison tied to get some momentum back before halftime as Sheehy won the ensuing draw control and then ultimately scored her second goal of the first half to make it 7-4 with a free position goal on a man-up opportunity for the Big Red with 1:10 left in the opening half.

Unfortunately, that left too much time for F&M to win the next draw control, and then the Diplomats showed off their patience to wait for the right shot as F&M ultimately took an 8-4 lead into the break.

In all for the second quarter, O'Dea made four saves, but F&M won seven of eight draw controls to build out its lead.

The Diplomats also outshot the Big Red 24-9 in the first half and had only two turnovers compared to nine for Denison.

F&M then outscored Denison 3-1 in the third quarter and 4-1 in the fourth to earn the win.

Sheehy and Morrell both finished with two goals for the Big Red while Sheehy and Daniel both had three draw controls and Sheehy and Annie Rau both had two groundballs.

Lastly, O'Dea would finish with 13 saves in goal and certainly showed why she was worthy of All-American status from USA Lacrosse Magazine.

Denison finishes its 10th season under Head Coach Amanda Daniels with an 11-11 overall record but advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the eighth time in school history and for the fifth season in a row.