LANCASTER, Pa. - No. 7 Franklin & Marshall advanced to the second round of the NCAA DIII Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon, besting John Carroll 16-9. The Diplomats never trailed in the affair, dominating across the board for a coast-to-coast victory. With the win, F&M improved to 8-0, while John Carroll dropped to 14-2.

The Diplomats will now face off against No. 6 York, who handily won their first round matchup against Lasell by a 21-6 final. The two teams will face off on Sunday at Shadek Stadium with a 2pm start.

F&M started off with two goals within five seconds of each other. Luke Keating found twine off a dime from A.J. Rigsby, before Jack Beatty won a faceoff and went coast to coast for a 2-0 lead. John Carroll scored two of the next three, with Will Molihan's goal splitting the pair for a 3-2 lead with 7:07 remaining in the first. The teams exchanged the next two goals with A.J. Rigsby getting on the board twice more for a 5-2 lead, before the Blue Streaks pulled two back for a 5-4 margin with 5:53 left in the second.

The Diplomats ran up three straight to end the first half, as Will DeMuth tallied with 3:48 left, and Christian Sullivan scored twice for an 8-4 halftime edge.

Rigsby continued his scoring clinic in the second half, netting his third and fourth goals of the game in quick order for a 10-4 lead. After a John Carroll goal with 8:05 to play in the third stanza, Blake Target and Colin Hueston tacked on two more goals for a 12-5 edge after three.

The Blue Streaks made things interesting in the fourth quarter, clawing back to a five-goal margin at 13-8 after scoring three of the first four goals. But F&M shut the door by scoring three of the final four on goals from Will DeMuth, Will Molihan, and Christian Sullivan for the 16-9 final.

A.J. Rigsby led the way with four goals and one assist. Christian Sullivan and Will DeMuth each registered hat tricks, with Sullivan adding two dimes. Luke Keating had a goal and two assists, while Eddy Madden jumped off the bench for two helpers.

Jack Beatty led the way with an eye-popping 12 groundballs on the afternoon - tying his career-high and also tying a program high. Beatty last collected a dozen grounders on April 5, 2019 against Elizabethtown, and was initially set by Matt Capone in 2005.

Eric Mueller made eight saves for his eighth victory of the season.

F&M outshot John Carroll 50-29 and dominated at the X by winning 22 of 29 faceoffs. The Diplomats also picked up 44 ground balls compared to the Blue Streaks' 19, and cleared 21-22 attempts.