LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 15 Franklin & Marshall outscored No. 12 Lynchburg 5-2 in the fourth to defeat the Hornets 14-11 in non-conference men's lacrosse action Sunday afternoon. The Diplomats improved to 1-0 while the Hornets fell to 0-2. 

After an early goal by the Hornets, F&M netted two straight with goals from Luke Keating and Harry Rice to go out front 2-1. The Hornets responded with a 4-0 spurt and for a 5-2 advantage at 13:09 in the second quarter. The Diplomats answered with a three-goal spurt of their own and went into the break tied at 5-5. Kevin Mollihan started the run and Keating struck twice off assists from Tucker McBride and Ronan Garcia.

Shane McBride found Tucker McBride 50 seconds into the third to give the Diplomats a 6-5 edge, but the Hornets put together a four-goal run for a 9-6 lead at midway through the third. F&M countered with three goals to end the third and tied the game at 9-9 heading into the final frame.

The Diplomats extended their run to five straight with two scores in the first six minutes of the fourth. Tucker McBride put the go-ahead goal through at 12:07 and Ellis Llewellyn scored at 9:21 to make it 11-9. Harry Rice struck in the middle of two goals by Lynchburg and the Diplomats sealed the victory with two scores in the final two minutes. Rice had the first and Mollihan put the final tally through. 

Harry Rice and Kevin Mollihan finished with four scores each, Luke Keating had a hat trick and Tucker McBride ended with two scores and one helper. Ellis Llewellyn struck once and Shane McBride handed out two assists while Ronan Garcia ended with one assists.

Jarrett Donaghy ended with five ground balls while Christopher Casey collected four for F&M. Scott Hatch turned away four shots and improved to 1-0 with C.J. Santora taking the loss with nine stops.

F&M outshot Lynchburg 48-36, held a 24-22 edge in ground balls, but the Hornets held a slight 15-14 advantage in face offs. 

The Diplomats return action next Saturday when F&M hosts Frostburg State in the home opener at Shadek Stadium at 3:00 p.m.