LEXINGTON, VA -- Jack Murray finished an assist from Gavin Molinelli at the 62:11 mark as the #4 Washington & Lee Generals survived in overtime against #22 Franklin & Marshall College in non-conference men's lacrosse action.

The win marks W&L's first in the last three games between the two schools as the Diplomats knocked off the Generals 5-3 in Lancaster last year and 5-4 in Lexington in 2003 as Washington & Lee is now 11-8 all-time against Franklin & Marshall.

Leading 5-2 entering the fourth period, the Generals saw their lead evaporate as midfielders Henry Kusjanovic (Jr., Armonk, NY/Byram Hills) and Colin Hanley (Sr., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha) buried unassisted goals past W&L goalie Chris Lalli at 14:09 and 13:08, respectively, to pull the Diplomats to within one goal of tying the score.

Franklin & Marshall knotted the score at 9:50 as attackman Steve Welsh (Sr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) split the Generals' defense before beating Lalli off an assist from midfielder Trey Steidle (Fr., Rosemont, PA/Western Reserve) for a man-up goal and a 6-6 game with under 10 minutes to play.

Washington & Lee retook the lead at 7:52 as Matt Arcati scored off an assist from Molinelli to put the Generals back in front.

However, with 37 seconds left in regulation, F&M struck as Welsh flipped a pass to attackman Noah Wilkinsky (Fr., Ardmore, PA/Valley Forge Military) who ripped a shot past Lalli to force overtime.

The Diplomats had a chance to win the game in regulation as W&L's Spotty Robins was called for a one minutes tripping penalty at :22, but Franklin & Marshall elected to run out the clock and go into overtime.

In the extra frame, midfielder JB Robichau (Sr., Edgartown, MA/Tabor) fired a shot which sailed just wide of the net to open the period.

Following successful clears by both teams, Kusjanovic ripped a shot which Lalli saved and moved out to Ben Morris for a successful clear and a goal as Murray finished a pass from Molinelli following the clear for a goal and the 7-6 final.

The game was a seesaw battle throughout as the Diplomats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as midfielder Kevin Kohl (So., Manasquan, NJ/Loomis Chaffee) scored 35 seconds into the first period. The Generals countered as Pat Collins scored off an assist from Molinelli at the 7:18 mark before Ned Rider netted an unassisted goal at 3:50 for a 2-1 W&L lead after the first period of play.

Neither team tallied a score in the second period before Grant Martin scored off an assist from Jim Ryan at the 13:52 mark of the third period. The Generals added another score 32 seconds later as Peter Goodwin scored at 13:20 for a 4-1 W&L lead.

The Diplomats halved the margin as Hanley scored an unassisted goal at 11:52 for a 4-3 deficit, but Martin put in an assist from Molinelli at 9:55 to give Washington & Lee a 5-2 lead entering the fourth period.

In goal, Mike Sartorius (Sr., Summit, NJ/Summit) recorded nine saves with seven goals allowed off 31 Washington & Lee shots, while Lalli stopped 11 of F&M's 27 shots with six goals allowed.

The game marked the second 7-6 overtime victory by Washington & Lee against a Lancaster County men's lacrosse team in less than a week as the Generals escaped against Elizabethtown College on March 8 in Lexington. Further, the game marked the Generals fourth one goal affair as Washington & Lee previously held off #6 Washington College (7-6 W) and #7 Gettysburg (9-8 W) in regulation on February 26 and March 5, respectively.

Franklin & Marshall (2-1, 0-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on March 16 against Kenyon College in Orlando, Florida. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.

SCORE BY PERIODS
#22 Franklin & Marshall (2-1, 0-0 CC) 1-0-1-4-0 -- 6
#4 Washington & Lee (4-0, 0-0 ODAC) 2-0-3-1-1 -- 7

Goals:
F&M - Colin Hanley (2), Steve Welsh (1), Henry Kusjanovic (1), Kevin Kohl (1), Noah Wilkinsky (1)
W&L - Grant Martin (2), Jack Murray (1), Pat Collins (1), Matt Arcati (1), Ned Rider (1), Peter Goodwin (1)

Assists:
F&M - Steve Welsh (1), Trey Steidle (1)
W&L - Gavin Molinelli (4), Jim Ryan (1)

Goalie (Saves/Goals Allowed/Minutes)
F&M - Mike Sartorius (9/7/62:11)
W&L - Chris Lalli (11/6/62:11)

Shots - F&M 27, W&L 31

Ground Balls - F&M 35, W&L 43

Clears - F&M 15 of 22, W&L 18 of 22

Face-Offs - F&M 8 of 15, W&L 7 of 15

Extra man - F&M 1 for 4, W&L 1 for 5

Penalties - F&M 5 for 4:00, W&L 4 for 3:30

Attendance - 426