One tough quarter prevented the Muhlenberg women's lacrosse team from pulling off a major upset.

The Mules scored the first four goals of the game and led fifth-ranked Franklin & Marshall at halftime. It was a one-goal game late in the third quarter before the Diplomats reeled off seven goals in a span of 5:38 to pull away for a 20-12 win in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams.

Muhlenberg (7-1, 0-1) opened the game on fire, netting four goals in the first 2:18 before Franklin & Marshall (6-2, 1-0) ever touched the ball. The Mules won the first four draws (three by junior Emily Vaughan) and scored each time, with senior Nicole Steiner netting a pair of goals and Vaughan and sophomore Ava Milia one apiece.

The Diplomats nearly returned the favor, scoring goals after winning the next three draws, and it was 4-3 less than five minutes into the game with seven goals on seven shots. 

The pace slowed down considerably after that, with neither team scoring for the rest of the quarter. Each team netted five goals in the second quarter, sending Muhlenberg into the break with a 9-8 advantage. 

The Mules have never defeated the Diplomats, and this was the first time in 41 meetings that they led at halftime.

After F&M scored the first goal of the third quarter, Milia scooped in a shot to make it 10-9. But the Diplomats scored just 35 seconds later to start a 10-0 run, keeping Muhlenberg off the scoreboard for a span of more than 23 minutes.

Steiner finished with 5 goals, passing 150 points for her career, while Vaughan, Milia and freshman Emma Youngling netted a pair each. Vaughan added 7 draw controls, 5 caused turnovers and 5 ground balls.

Junior Ellison Ervin made 13 saves in goal.