Lancaster, Pa. - Earning their first-ever win over No. 5 Franklin and Marshall, the No. 20 Denison women's lacrosse team came from behind to defeat the Diplomats 16-15 in their Sweet Sixteen matchup. The Big Red improve to 16-4 for the season, while Franklin and Marshall concludes its season with a record of 18-3.
 
Up Next: The Denison Big Red advance to the Elite Eight matchup on Sunday, May 18 at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 6 Gettysburg and No. 9 Washington & Lee, two teams the Big Red have already faced this year.
 
Sweet Sixteen (Denison 16 - Franklin & Marshall 15)
In front of their home crowd, the Diplomats found their rhythm early, scoring three unanswered goals just six minutes into the game, giving Franklin & Marshall a comfortable 3-0 lead. At the eighth-minute mark, senior attacker Anna DeVuono found the back of the net to put the Big Red on the board. Just 20 seconds later, Madison Goldstein added Denison's second goal of the afternoon after securing a pass from Sophie Davenport, narrowing the gap to one. By the end of the first period, Denison began to find its footing and finished the first period down 6-4.
 
In the second period, Denison scored first to cut the lead to one; however, Franklin & Marshall responded with four goals of their own to stretch their lead to 10-5 with just under ten minutes remaining in the half. Although the Big Red is typically a second-half team, the desire to secure a spot in the Elite Eight proved to be a tremendous motivator, leading to six unanswered goals that put Denison up 11-10 before halftime.
 
In the second half, the Big Red struck first, taking a two-goal lead, but with home field advantage, the Diplomats, energized by their crowd, tied the game at 13 apiece heading into the final period. With 11 minutes left in regulation, Franklin & Marshall scored two goals within a minute of each other to take a 15-13 lead. Denison, looking to earn its first third-round win since 2021, ramped up its offense at the right time, scoring three consecutive goals to regain a one-goal lead with five minutes remaining in regulation. Much like the offense, the Big Red's defense tightened up, limiting the Diplomats to just two goals in the quarter, ultimately securing the comeback win. Today's victory marks Denison's highest-seeded win in the NCAA tournament.
 
DeVuono and Sydney Lavin led the Big Red with four goals each, followed by Mary Martinson with two goals. The remaining six goals were scored by Caroline Brooks, Maddie Chase, Sophie Davenport, Madison Goldstein, MK Barnhart, and Grayson O'Marra. Davenport also recorded two of the five assists for the day.
 
The Diplomats held a 19-16 edge over the Big Red in draw controls, outshot Denison 36-28, and gathered 21 ground balls to Denison's 14. Despite Franklin & Marshall's possession dominance, Denison was successful on 17 of 19 clear attempts, while the Diplomats were 19 of 23.
 
In goal for Denison was Julianne Henigan, who finished the day with 14 saves, while Franklin and Marshall's goalkeeper, Sara Digiovanni, made seven saves for the afternoon.