GETTYSBURG, PA - Gettysburg College used a 4-0 run in the first period to build an insurmountable lead as the #4 nationally ranked Bullets held off a rally by #19 Franklin & Marshall to record a 7-5 victory in the 2005 Centennial Conference men's lacrosse semifinals on Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.

Trailing 5-1 at halftime, the Diplomats cut into the lead as Phil Schellhorn (So., Wilton, CT/Wilton) leaped in front of the crease and buried a feed from Steve Welsh (Sr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) over the head of Gettysburg goalie Pat Vaughan at the 5:16 mark of the third period. Gettysburg responded as Chris Renzi scored an unassisted goal at 1:26 before Welsh blasted a shot past Vaughan to shave the lead back to 6-3 with 32 seconds left in the period.

However, the Bullets countered as Brian Pryor converted on a pass from T.J. Liberto with 17 seconds left to make the score 7-3 entering the fourth period.

In the fourth period, the Diplomats and Bullets failed to score until defenseman Lincoln Fischer (So., Silver Spring, MD/Blair Academy) broke free and beat Vaughan with a blast at 9:46 to pull the Diplomats to within three goals of tying the game.

However, the Gettysburg defense locked down the cage as the Bullets handled 12 F&M shots in the period before Welsh scored an unassisted goal at 2:15 for the 7-5 final score.

The story of the game was the first period as Vaughan made eight saves and the Gettysburg offense scored four goals for the difference in the game.

The Bullets jumped on the board at the 12:22 mark as Jon Sowanick rifled a shot under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Kevin Freehill slipped an ankle high shot into the cage off an assist from Pryor at 8:07 to go ahead 2-0. Brian Ford scored Gettysburg's next goal as he put a feed from Evan Gallant inside the right post for a 3-0 lead at the 4:58 mark before Liberto tallied an unassisted goal at 1:30 for a 4-0 Bullets' lead after 15 minutes of play.

Franklin & Marshall scored the game's next goal as Peter Moon (Fr., Durham, NC/Durham) over handed a shot that deflected off the stick head of Vaughan and into the cage at 8:20 of the second period.

Gettysburg pushed the lead back to four goals at 5-1 prior to halftime as Sowanick side armed a shot inside the right post off an assist from Liberto at 3:25.

A key to the game was injuries as F&M played virtually the entire game without Centennial Conference leading goal scorer Cyrus Adams (So., Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell) who went down with an injury early in the game. Entering the game, Adams was averaging 3.15 goals and 3.54 points per game, nearly one-third of the Diplomats 10.40 goals per game.

Overall, the Diplomats dominated the game offensively out shooting Gettysburg 47-22 in the game, including a 23-9 advantage in the second half. Defensively, the Diplomats were successful on 17-of-18 clears to Gettysburg's 19-of-22, but the Bullets recorded a 17-21 advantage in turnovers.

In goal, Mike Sartorius (Sr., Summit, NJ/Summit) made 11 saves for the Diplomats, with one shot on goal, while Vaughan stopped 17 of F&M's shots to record the win.

Historically, Welsh's two goals and one assist raise his career numbers to 84 goals and 112 assists for 196 points as he concludes his career second in assists and fifth in points in school history.

In face-offs, Matt Capone (Sr., Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale) went nine-for-15 as he raised his season total to 207-for-286 (72.37%) as he finishes 706-for-918 (76.90%) in his career.

The game marked the third time in the five-year history of the CC tournament, and the first time since 2002, that the two programs clashed in the opening round. In 2001, the Bullets escaped 9-7 at the historic battlefield before recording a 7-6 victory in 2002 at Gettysburg.

Franklin & Marshall concludes the season 9-5, 5-3 in Centennial Conference play as it marks the fifth straight season the Diplomats have recorded nine or more wins to tie the school record of the 1970-74 Diplomats.

SCORE BY PERIODS
#19 Franklin & Marshall (9-5, 5-3 CC) 0-1-2-2 -- 5
#4 Gettysburg (13-3, 8-0 CC) 4-1-2-0 -- 7

Goals:
F&M - Steve Welsh (2), Peter Moon (1), Lincoln Fischer (1), Phil Schellhorn (1)
GC - Jon Sowanick (2), T.J. Liberto (1), Brian Pryor (1), Chris Renzi (1), Brian Ford (1), Kevin Freehill (1)

Assists:
F&M - Steve Welsh (1)
GC - T.J. Liberto (2), Evan Gallant (1), Brian Pryor (1)

Goalie (Saves/Goals Allowed/Minutes)
F&M - Mike Sartorius (11/7/60)
GC - Pat Vaughan (17/5/60)

Shots - F&M 47, GC 22

Face-Offs - F&M 9 of 15, GC 6 of 15

Extra man - F&M 0 for 6, GC 0 for 3

Clears - F&M 17 of 18, GC 19 of 22

Ground Balls - F&M 26, GC 28

Turnovers - F&M 21, GC 17