Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – No. 12 Franklin & Marshall escaped with an 18-17 win over Messiah in men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats improved to 4-1 while the Falcons fell to 2-3.

F&M took an early 3-0 lead with 4:40 left in the first before Messiah put their first point on the board to make it 3-1 seconds later. The Diplomats answered with another 3-0 spurt and took a 6-1 lead into the second quarter.

Messiah struck first in the second and Harry Rice gave F&M a 7-2 lead at 13:16. The Falcons responded with three two-goal spurts in between single goals by F&M the remainder of the quarter with F&M clinging to a 9-8 edge heading into the break.

Kevin Mollihan and George Briggs scored back-to-back goals two minutes into the third for an 11-8 lead. The Falcons countered with four straight to go out front 12-11 at 7:01. F&M responded with three straight to regain the lead and held a 14-12 edge two minutes into the fourth.

The Falcons came within a point, 14-13, at 12:20 and F&M netted two straight for a 16-13 advantage. The teams traded goals over the next six minutes with F&M leading 18-15 with a little less than five minutes to play. Messiah made a push late in the game with two unanswered to make it 18-17, but was unable to get the final faceoff as time expired.

Kevin Mollihan finished with four goals and one assist, Sean Rogers had three scores with one helper and Luke Keating tallied four goals for F&M. George Briggs struck twice with two assists, while Harry Rice, Tucker McBride and Jarrett Donaghy all had a goal and an assist. Nick Crennan and Ellis Llewellyn each scored one and Shane McBride added an assist.

Tommy O'Connor had two caused turnovers and five ground balls and Llewellyn ended with three caused turnovers to help pace the defense. Scott Hatch stopped five shots and improved to 4-1 in the net.

F&M outshot Messiah 44-39 and went 11-for-12 on clear attempts.

The Diplomats return to action on Tuesday when F&M faces Cortland State in Richmond, Va.