LANCASTER, PA -- #14 Dickinson College built an 11-6 lead through three quarters of play and managed to hold off a Franklin & Marshall College comeback attempt as the Red Devils downed the Diplomats 12-10 in Centennial Conference men's lacrosse action at Sponaugle-Williamson Field.

Trailing 6-4 at halftime, the Diplomats cut the Red Devils lead to a goal to open the third quarter as midfielder Peter Moon (So., Durham, NC/Durham) netted an unassisted goal with 13:47 left in the quarter to pull F&M to within 6-5.

Dickinson (10-2, 5-1 Centennial Conference) countered as Ed Boyd scored off assists from Flynn Burch at 12:30 and 11:57 to push the lead out to 8-5 before Drew Peace found Derek Still for a goal at the 11:57 mark to make the score 9-5.

Franklin & Marshall (5-6, 1-4 Centennial Conference) trimmed the margin to three goals as Mark Hild (Fr., Denver, CO/Denver East) beat Dickinson goalie Kevin Riley with a high shot off an assist from Phil Schellhorn (Jr., Wilton, CT/Wilton) at 6:12, but the Red Devils closed out the quarter with a pair of goals as Brian Read scored unassisted at 2:55 and Ed Lawless finished a feed from Boyd at 2:07 to give Dickinson an 11-6 advantage entering the final 15 minutes of play.

Franklin & Marshall cut the lead to two goals in less than 10 minutes as Moon scored off an assist from John Short (So., Durham, NC/Durham) at 13:06 and tallied an unassisted goal at 8:16 before Mike Down (Jr., Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) ripped a pass from Sean Duffy (Sr., Springfield, PA/Archmere Academy) into the net at the 5:49 mark to put F&M within striking distance at 11-9 with over five minutes to play.

Lawless gave the Red Devils some breathing room with 2:14 to play as he scored an unassisted goal, but Brett Leppert (Fr., Baltimore, MD/John Carroll) responded off an assist from Hild at the 1:31 for the 12-10 final score.

The win improves Dickinson to 2-37 in the last 39 meetings between F&M and Dickinson as the Red Devils snapped a 37-game losing streak last year in Carlisle.

The Diplomats took the lead in the opening minutes of the game as Schellhorn netted an unassisted goal at the 9:26 mark of the first quarter. Dickinson knotted the score and took the lead as Read fed assists to Burch and Peace at 4:30 and 1:41, respectively, for a 2-1 Dickinson lead entering the second quarter.

Dickinson pushed the lead out to 3-1 at the 8:24 mark of the second quarter as Read connected with Burch for a goal, but Franklin & Marshall rifled three goals as Down scored an assist from Leppert at 7:56, midfielder David Steiner (Fr., Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) scored unassisted at 3:27 and Hild finished a pass from Moon at 3:17 to go in front 4-3.

However, the Red Devils caught fire and scored three goals prior to the halftime horn as Read finished passes from Burch at 2:14 and 1:31 before Peace netted an unassisted goal with 39 seconds left to give Dickinson a two goal lead at the break.

In goal, Tim Kjeldgaard (So., Yarmouth, ME/Hyde) took the loss with 13 saves, including eight in the first half, while Riley picked up the win by making 16 saves.

Statistically, the game was even as F&M out shot the Red Devils 35-31, including a 20-17 advantage in the first half, while Dickinson held advantages in ground balls (32-to-18), extra man opportunities (0-for-4 to 0-for-2), face-offs (16-of-26 to 10-of-26) and turnovers (six to eight).

Franklin & Marshall (5-6, 1-4 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on April 22 in Centennial Conference action versus Swarthmore College at Sponaugle-Williamson Field. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.

SCORE BY PERIODS
Dickinson (10-2, 5-1 CC) 2-4-5-1--12
Franklin & Marshall (5-5, 1-3 CC) 1-3-2-4 - 10

Goals:
F&M - Peter Moon (3), Mark Hild (2), Mike Down (2), Phil Schellhorn (1), Brett Leppert (1), David Steiner (1)
Dickinson - Brian Read (3), Flynn Burch (2), Drew Peace (2), Ed Boyd (2), Ed Lawless (2), Derek Still (1)

Assists:
F&M - Sean Duffy (1), Mark Hild (1), Brett Leppert (1), Peter Moon (1), Phil Schellhorn (1), John Short (1)
Dickinson - Flynn Burch (4), Brian Read (3), Ed Boyd (1), Drew Peace (1)

Goalie (Saves/Goals Allowed/Minutes)
F&M - Tim Kjeldgaard (13/12/60)
Dickinson - Kevin Riley (16/10/60)

Shots - F&M 35, Dickinson 31

Face-Offs - F&M 10-of-26, Dickinson 16-of-26

Extra man - F&M 0-for-2, Dickinson 0-for-4

Clears - F&M 12-of-14, Dickinson 10-of-20

Turnovers - F&M 8, Dickinson 6

Attendance - 444