For a moment, Franklin and Marshall women’s lacrosse coach Mike Faith wishes he would’ve done one thing differently ahead of the Diplomats’ Feb. 23 opener at Washington and Lee.

“I thought I knew what we had, but that game was an eye-opener — I wish I had scheduled a scrimmage,” he said.

The Generals, who returned four of their top five point-producers from a year ago, feasted on nine underclassmen in the F&M starting lineup.

The Diplomats committed 25 turnovers in a 10-9 loss, their third straight defeat in the Ampersand Game.

“The freshmen just didn’t perform; they needed a game under their belts,” Faith said. “But they’ve been great since.”

Have they.

Look no further than the IWLCA and Centennial Conference Player of the Week and freshman attacker Ally Marino, who continued her hot start with a hat trick in Wednesday’s 6-4 win over No. 3 Mary Washington. The victory marked the Diplomats’ third straight, as they’ve surged to No. 10 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20. Marino scored twice in the closing minutes to break a 4-4 tie and ultimately seal the win, upping her total to 12 goals through four games.

The performance followed back-to-back four-goal outings vs. then-No. 8 York and Messiah; the former featuring her left-handed game-winner 39 seconds into overtime. Marino’s contributions alongside a front line of sophomores Jane Cote (4 G, 11 A) and Megan Jackson (6 G, 3 A) have helped assuage Faith’s concerns of a post-Paige Moriarity offense.

“I knew losing 400 career points [393 to be precise, most ever by a Centennial player] would be tough, but having seen Ally in camp as a sophomore, she just has it,” he said. “Her coach said I’d be getting a gem if I could get her.”

Marino’s “it” may be due in part to genetics — father Gerald “Roddy” Marino was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2002 after a highly decorated career as an attackman for Team USA and Virginia.

Recent recruiting classes have brought an infusion of speed, which Faith has used to emphasize “pride in the ride” and a return to a more aggressive style of defense overall. The Diplomats more than halved their giveaways from the W&L loss to the York win while using a mix of player-to-player and zone schemes to cause turnovers or sap opponents of possession time in this shot-clock era.

“They know if they don’t hustle on the ride, they are not going to play,” Faith said. “But they’ve bought in.”

Returning second-team All-American junior defender Maggie Hanzsche caused a career-high seven turnovers against the Eagles, a sizeable portion of the 21 caused by F&M and 30 committed by Mary Washington in the game. With athletic senior goalie Julia McKay sometimes involved in the pressure, the Diplomats have forced 52 opponent turnovers. That’s helped to offset a draw control deficiency of 20 that, for now, hasn’t hurt.

“Those two are the leaders of the defense,” Faith said. “Maggie is the backer in our zone, directing everything out there with two freshmen and a sophomore. She’s a lefty, which makes her a great matchup against the best feeder when we come out of our zone. She rarely makes mistakes in the clear and is one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached.”

F&M seems to be handling the graduation of stars at the bookends of the field, and it must continue to do so as a challenging early schedule continues. No. 7 Cortland visits Lancaster, Pa., at noon tomorrow.

Harsh Snap Back for Bates

On the strength of an 11-10 win at then-No. 3 and defending NESCAC champion Middlebury amidst three road wins to start the season, Bates catapulted to No. 5 this week. But the Bobcats suffered a tough snap back to reality Wednesday, getting stifled at Babson, 17-6.

Playing its fourth of five straight away games, Bates figurately never got off the bus in falling behind 4-0 and 11-1. The Bobcats attempted a season-low 21 shots, getting a similar-low 17 on goal.

Bates travels to No. 2 Wesleyan Saturday in a litmus-test game. The Bobcats’ home opener against Plymouth has been moved from Sunday to Monday.

Lions’ Defense Returns to Form

Defensive supremacy long has been a staple of Hall of Fame coach Sharon Pfluger’s TCNJ teams, and the No. 13 Lions quickly returned to what they do best after last week’s 12-10 upset loss to Haverford. TCNJ, which shut out Neumann in its opener, 16-0, toppled Ursinus Tuesday, 16-1. Senior goalie Miranda Chrone, a finalist for the Brine/US Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year award, stopped nine of the Bears 10 shots on goal.

Dickinson, averaging 15.3 goals per game during its 4-0 start, will offer a test tomorrow in Ewing, N.J.