WESTMINSTER, MD -- Attackman Justin Merson scored four goals, including three in the third period, as the McDaniel College Green Terror used a six goal third period to defeat Franklin & Marshall College 11-7 in men's lacrosse.
Trailing 4-3 at halftime, F&M saw the lead expand with 12:55 left in the third quarter as Merson finished an assist from Steve Hoffman to push the lead out to two goals. The goal ignited the Green Terror offense as Jeremy Freed scored off an assist from Curtis Schaeffer 11 seconds later before Brad Darrah fired in a shot off a pass from Rob Weaver with 11:22 left in the period to take a 7-3 lead.
Franklin & Marshall cut into the lead as Cyrus Adams (Fr., Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell) scored an unassisted goal at 10:52 to move his team to within three goals, but McDaniel countered as Weaver scored off a pass from Pete Shaffer at 9:56, and Merson finished feeds from Weaver at 7:00 and 1:51 for a 10-4 lead entering the fourth period.
The Terror pushed the lead to seven goals to open the fourth as Freed scored an extra-man goal off an assist from Shaffer for an 11-4 lead. Franklin & Marshall attempted to comeback as Bas Solleveld (Sr., Glenmoore, PA/Shipley) tallied an unassisted goal at 10:52, Steve Welsh (Jr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) scored an unassisted goal at 5:35 and Solleveld converted an assist from Welsh at 3:38 on a man-up opportunity, but McDaniel held on for the 11-7 victory.
The game was a see-saw affair as the Diplomats jumped out to an early lead in the first period.
Kevin Kohl (Fr., Manasquan, NJ/Loomis Chaffee) gave F&M a 1-0 lead at the 12:41 mark of the first period as he beat McDaniel goalie Mike Korba before Solleveld scored an unassisted goal at 5:01 for a 2-0 lead.
McDaniel responded as Jared Nutter scored on a man-up opportunity at 2:30 to cut the lead in half. However, Chris Wathey (Sr., South Huntington, NY/St. Anthony's) buried a pass from Welsh into the net with 1:51 left in the period for a 3-1 lead before Merson connected on a centering pass from Freed at 1:25 to put the Terror within a goal at 3-2 at the end of the period.
In the second, Donnie White scored at 9:29 and Shaffer converted on a man-up opportunity at 8:55 as McDaniel outscored F&M 2-0 in the period for a 4-3 lead at halftime.
Between the pipes, F&M goalie Mike Sartorius (Jr., Summit, NJ/Summit) finished with eight saves with 11 goals allowed on 31 McDaniel shots over 45 minutes before being relieved by Will McIntire (Jr., Arlington, VA/Taft) who made a save in the fourth period. For McDaniel, Korba made 14 saves on 33 shots with seven goals allowed in 60 minutes of play.
The key to the game was man-up opportunities as McDaniel converted on three-of-six, while the Diplomats scored one goal on five attempts.
Overall, the game marks the sixth straight loss to McDaniel since the Diplomats defeated the Terror 10-9 in Westminster on April 18, 1998.
Franklin & Marshall (9-4, 4-3 CC) will continue the season on May 1 versus Gettysburg College. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
SCORE BY PERIODS
Franklin & Marshall (9-4, 4-3 CC) 3-0-1-3 -- 7
McDaniel (7-7, 4-3 CC) 2-2-6-1 -- 11
Goals:
F&M - Bas Solleveld (3), Kevin Kohl (1), Steve Welsh (1), Cyrus Adams (1), Chris Wathey (1)
MC - Justin Merson (4), Jeremy Freed (2), Rob Weaver (1), Donnie White (1), Pete Shaffer (1), Jared Nutter (1), Brad Darrah (1)
Assists:
F&M - Steve Welsh (3)
MC - Rob Weaver (3), Pete Shaffer (2), Steve Hoffman (2), Jeremy Freed (1), Curtis Schaeffer (1)
Goalie (Saves/Shots/Goals Allowed/Minutes)
F&M - Mike Sartorius (8/31/11/45:18); Will McIntire (1/1/0/14:42)
MC - Mike Korba (14/33/7/60:00)
Shots - F&M 33, MC 32
Ground Balls - F&M 43, MC 31
Face-Offs - F&M 13 of 20, MC 7 of 20
Extra man - F&M 1 for 5, MC 3 for 6
Attendance - 306
