COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus women's lacrosse team was unable to overcome an early deficit, falling 14-6 to No. 20 Franklin & Marshall on Wednesday evening at Patterson Field.
 
Junior Dana DeSiato highlighted the contest by recording her 100th career assist and 50th of this season. She currently ranks second all-time in program history, trailing Jaime Matty's program record of 179. DeSiato leads the Centennial Conference this season in assists and ranks tied for seventh in Division III.
 
The Diplomats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead at the 14:39 mark of the opening period, scoring on their first possession. Franklin & Marshall capitalized off a string of Ursinus turnovers with goals at 10:28 and 8:20 to extend the advantage to 3-0. The Bears responded with six consecutive shots but could not convert, and the Diplomats added the final goal of the period to take a 4-0 lead into the second.
 
Franklin & Marshall scored the first two goals of the second period to push the lead to six before juniors Dana DeSiato and Whitney Hershey connected for Ursinus with 10:55 remaining in the first half. DeSiato drew a double team behind the cage before finding Hershey in front for the Bears' first goal.
 
The Diplomats answered with two goals over the next two minutes before senior Ashley Noto halted the run to make it 8-2. With 8:19 remaining in the half, DeSiato assisted Noto on a backdoor cut, and Noto converted through traffic to trim the deficit to six.
 
Franklin & Marshall added a free-position goal at the 3:00 mark before Hershey and junior Ryann Buchner scored to close the half. Buchner's goal came with three seconds remaining as she corralled a loose ball and finished at the crease for her ninth goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 9-4 at halftime.
 
The Diplomats opened the second half with three straight goals before Buchner scored again to make it 12-5. Franklin & Marshall added the final goal of the period, and each team scored once in the fourth quarter to account for the 14-6 final. Sophomore Devin Buggy netted the Bears' final goal with 13:52 remaining, her 31st of the season.
 
The Diplomats held a 33-26 advantage in shots, a 14-8 lead in draw controls and a 17-16 edge in turnovers. Franklin & Marshall's Sara DiGiovanni earned the win in goal, recording 11 saves in 60 minutes of action. First-year netminder Addi Guthrie-Pimpinella took the loss for Ursinus, also making 11 saves for her third double-digit save performance of the season.
 
The Bears return to action Saturday, April 25th, traveling to McDaniel for their 2026 season finale.