LANCASTER, PA -- Attackman Steve Welsh (Jr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) scored once and handed out two assists as the #14 ranked Franklin & Marshall College men's lacrosse team handled #15 ranked Washington & Lee 5-3 in non-conference action.
For F&M, which defeated W&L 5-4 in Lexington, Virginia last year, the win marks the Diplomats first over the Generals in Lancaster since a 10-9 overtime win on Sponaugle-Williamson Field on March 30, 1996. The Diplomats' win last year marked F&M's first overall against W&L since the dramatic 1996 win as F&M is now 8-10 all-time against Washington & Lee.
Franklin & Marshall put the game away in the first half as Welsh beat W&L goalie Ansel Sanders by circling behind the goal and ripping a shot over Ansel's left shoulder with 11:44 remaining in the first period for a quick 1-0 lead.
F&M increased the lead to 3-0 by the conclusion of the first period as Vandy Vanderwarker (Sr., Keswick, VA/STAB) finished a feed from Chris Wathey (Sr., South Huntington, NY/St. Anthony's) with a shot while flying through the air after being checked from behind for a 2-0 lead. Wathey closed out the first period scoring by slamming a point blank shot past Sanders off an assist from Welsh with 1:36 left in the period. Overall, F&M outshot the Generals 7-3 in the period while staking themselves to a three-goal lead.
The lead ballooned in the second period as Colin Hanley (Jr., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha) side-armed a shot off an assist from Welsh which sailed through traffic and into the goal for a 4-0 lead with 7:13 remaining until halftime.
Following the break, the Diplomats finished their scoring as face-off specialist Matt Capone (Jr., Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale) corralled a ground ball in front of Sanders and beat the senior goalie with a waist-high shot which zipped unmolested into the goal.
The Generals attempted a comeback attempt as Gavin Molinelli finished an assist from Jack Murray with 4:09 left in the third period to pull within four goals.
W&L cut the lead to 5-3 as Dustin Martin fired feeds from Molinelli into the twine with 2:03 and 1:53 remaining in the game for the 5-3 final.
In goal, Mike Sartorius (Jr., Summit, NJ/Summit) made 13 saves in 59 minutes of play, while back-up goalie Will McIntire (Jr., Arlington, VA/Taft) stopped two shots. For W&L, Sanders finished with 10 saves off 21 F&M shots in 60 minutes of play.
Franklin & Marshall (2-1, 0-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on March 16 versus Keene State in Sanford, Florida. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.
SCORE BY PERIODS
Washington & Lee (2-3, 0-0 ODAC) 0-0-1-2 -- 3
Franklin & Marshall (2-1, 0-0 CC) 3-1-1-0 -- 5
Goals:
F&M - Matt Capone (1), Vandy Vanderwarker (1), Chris Wathey (1), Steve Welsh (1), Colin Hanley (1)
W&L - Dustin Martin (2), Gavin Molinelli (1)
Assists:
F&M - Steve Welsh (2), Chris Wathey (1)
W&L - Gavin Molinelli (2), Jack Murray (1)
Goalie (Saves/Goals Allowed/Minutes)
F&M - Mike Sartorius (13/2/59), Will McIntire (2/1/1)
W&L - Ansel Sanders (10/5/60)
Shots - F&M 21, W&L 29
Ground Balls - F&M 20, W&L 25
Face-Offs - F&M 5 of 10, W&L 5 of 10
Extra man - F&M 0 for 3, W&L 3 of 8
Attendance - 250
