TOWSON, MD -- Midfielder Colin Hanley (Sr., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha) buried an unassisted goal with 9:16 left in the fourth period as the Franklin & Marshall College men's lacrosse team knocked off Denison University 9-8 at Calvert Hall College High School.

Leading 6-4 at halftime, the Diplomats saw their lead evaporate as Chris Boehl scored at 9:59 before Craig Pastor scored at 7:41 and 5:57 off the third quarter off assists from Wawner and Boehl, respectively, to give the Big Red a 7-6 lead.

Franklin & Marshall tied the score at the 4:09 mark as Bobby Atkins (Fr., Concord, MA/Loomis Chaffee) found the back of the net off an assist from Cyrus Adams (So., Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell) to tie the game. However, Ted Douglass scored off a Wawner assist at 1:26 to put the Big Red back in front 8-7.

The Diplomats countered as Hanley fired in an assist from Steve Welsh (Sr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) with 50 seconds remaining in the period for an 8-8 tie after 45 minutes of play.

The game was a see-saw battle from the opening face-off as Denison's PJ Hendrick opened the scoring at 9:39 of the first period before Tommy Kehoe (Fr., Coraopolis, PA/Sewickley) found the back of the net with an unassisted blast at 7:51 to tie the game at 1-1.

The Big Red responded as Boehl connected on an assist from Chris Chandler at 7:02 for a 2-1 lead before F&M's Adams finished an assist from Henry Kusjanovic (Jr., Armonk, NY/Byram Hills) at 6:30 to tie the game at 2-2.

Denison closed out the quarter with a goal as John Feldman found Douglass with 3:43 left to play in the period for a score and a 3-2 lead after 15 minutes of play.

The Diplomats tied the game again with 13:31 left in the second period as Welsh passed to Adams for a score and a 3-3 tie. The goal ignited the Franklin & Marshall offense as Welsh and Adams connected again at 9:46, Adams assisted Welsh at 8:18 and Atkins assisted Kehoe at 7:53 for a 6-3 lead. Denison closed out the first half with an unassisted goal by Wawner at 4:12 for a 6-4 F&M lead at the break.

In goal, Mike Sartorius (Sr., Summit, NJ/Summit) recorded 16 saves, while Denison's Alex Baruch made 15 saves.

The win also raises F&M's record to 7-10 all-time against Denison as the Big Red last defeated the Diplomats in 1997.

Franklin & Marshall (4-1, 0-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on March 23 in the home opener versus Goucher College. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.

SCORE BY PERIODS
Franklin & Marshall (4-1, 0-0 CC) 2-4-2-1 -- 9
Denison (2-2, 0-0 NCAC) 3-1-4-0 -- 8

Goals:
F&M - Cyrus Adams (4), Colin Hanley (2), Tommy Kehoe (2), Bobby Atkins (1)
DU - Craig Pastor (2), Chris Boehl (2), Ted Douglass (2), Clay Wawner (1), PJ Hendrick (1)

Assists:
F&M - Steve Welsh (3), Bobby Atkins (1), Cyrus Adams (1), Colin Hanley (1), Tommy Kehoe (1), Henry Kusjanovic (1)
DU - Clay Wawner (1), Kurt Federer (1), Chris Boehl (1), Chris Chandler (1), Yianni Savoulidis (1), Dean Scontras (1), John Feldman (1)

Goalie (Saves/Goals Allowed/Minutes)
F&M - Mike Sartorius (16/8/60)
DU - Alex Baruch (15/9/60)

Shots - F&M 32, DU 31

Ground Balls - F&M 45, DU 29

Face-Offs - F&M 17 of 19, DU 2 of 19

Extra man - F&M 0 for 7, DU 2-7

Attendance - 210