LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team enjoyed an undefeated regular season, won the Centennial Conference Championship, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament during a successful 2021 season. The Diplomats will have to reload some key pieces from that championship roster that rose to as high as No. 7 in the USILA poll, but optimism is still high in Lancaster as Franklin & Marshall was ranked eighth in the USILA preseason poll.
Attack
The two returning players with experience on attack will lead a young unit that has seen the Diplomats produce the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year during each of the previous four seasons. Senior Blake Target was a first-team All-Centennial selection last year after ranking second in the conference with 25 goals in just nine games. Junior Will Mollihan scored nine goals and added six assists for 15 points during a strong 2021 campaign.
The attack will lean on its two returning stars as several other players look to fill the voids left by graduation. Michael Buttelman is another senior while two sophomores and three first-years will have the chance to step right into the lineup. Nevertheless, don't forget about the Diplomats' middie's that provide a number of additional players who will threaten the opponent's defense.
Newcomers: George Gervais (Fy.), Kai Kelly (Fy.), Blake Leveston (So.), James Moroney (So.), Brett Rama (Fy.)
Midfield
Three more returning All-Centennial Conference performers and two 2022 preseason All-Americans can be found in the midfield. That includes 2021 second-team All-American A.J. Rigsby who has scored 75 career goals in addition to 15 assists. Rigsby led the Centennial Conference in goals (30) and ranked second in points (39) during the 2021 championship run. Rigsby, a preseason All-American, tied the school record for man-up goals (9) during his last full season in 2019 and ranks fourth all-time at F&M in that category (14). Senior Will DeMuth adds to the offensive threats as he was a second-team All-CC performer last year after scoring nine goals and adding six assists.
Spencer Hall was named a preseason All-American as a short-stick middie after a second-team All-CC campaign. Hall collected 13 ground balls in nine games and has caused five career turnovers. Sophomores Brendan Murphy and Sean Gifford also have experience as short sticks while senior Tristan Lynch and Colin Falk have the most experience of the long poles on the team.
Seniors Eddy Madden and Eric Scheuerle, juniors, Will Mulligan and Braeden McCarthy, and sophomore Kyle Russell each have experience in the midfield and have the potential for an even bigger impact this spring. Eleven first-years will be a part of this midfield unit as plenty of immediate opportunity for playing time will await.
Newcomers: Pierce Archer (Fy.), Charlie Bernicker (Fy.), Peter Della-Volpe (Fy.), Charlie Griebel (Fy.), Drew Martin (So./LSM), Matt Melkonian (Fy.), Dylan Mollick (Fy./LSM), Ryan Roberts (Fy.), Hogan Rose (Fy.), Gavin Schulz (Fy.), Kyle Stevenson (Fy.), Talbot Troy (Fy.)
Defense
Senior Noah Isaacson is a returning All-Centennial Conference performer who will be leaned on as this group looks to for new starters to emerge. Isaacson is certainly ready for that role with his 31 appearances, including 18 career starts. Isaaacson ranks ninth in school history, averaging 1.16 caused turnovers per game during his career. Classmate Sam Cosimano and junior Kyle Craig also have experience on defense while junior Johnnie Banks and sophomores Dalton Church and Drew Pascal have been more limited in their roles, but will have the opportunity to compete for more playing time this spring.
Newcomers: Matt Hamrah (Fy.), TJ McCabe (Fy.), Kevin O'Connor (So.), Christian Theoharides (Fy.)
Face-Off
Junior Connor Helm was a strong second option last year as he won 37 of his 79 face-offs (53.6%) a season ago and has won over 56 percent of the restarts throughout his career. Fellow junior Matthew Freeman did not line up as much on the X, but was phenomenal in his chances with a 92.3% winning percentage (12-of-13). Sophomore Adam Soper provides the team with yet another look to prepare for.
Newcomer: Manny Ciminello
Goalie
Sage Garito took over the starting job in 2020 and posted a .548 save percentage in four contests, allowing just 9.50 goals per game during the shortened season. Returning for his sophomore campaign, Garito and his 3-1 career record will be the leader of this group. Fellow sophomores George Rioseco, and Lachlan Barber saw limited time in goal during the 2021 championship season.
Preseason Polls
Even with a new look team, expectations are still high for the Diplomats nationally as they were ranked No. 8 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national poll. Coaches around the Centennial Conference are in agreement that the Diplomats will be right back in the championship discussion as they received seven of the nine first-place votes to repeat their championship in the preseason voting of the conference's head coaches.
Schedule
The Centennial Conference always presents a challenging slate to get to the postseason as Gettysburg is ranked No. 18 nationally, with Dickinson, Muhlenberg, and Ursinus all receiving votes nationally. The Diplomats have additionally challenged themselves with nationally-ranked matchups against No. 5 York (Pa.) and No. 13 Stevenson during the Mustang Classic. The matchup with York (Pa.) will be a rematch of the NCAA Tournament game played at Shadek Stadium last spring. The season officially gets underway on Saturday, February 19 with a road trip to Lebanon Valley while the home opener is slated for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 23 against DeSales.
Tradition of Success
Men's lacrosse has made seven previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Diplomats are riding an unprecedented recent wave of success, having made the national tournament in three of the previous four seasons that the championship was held. In addition to the first two Centennial Conference Championships in program history during the 2017 and 2021 campaigns, the Diplomats received an at-large bid in 2019.
Coaching Staff
Head coach Todd Cavallaro will enter his 15th season leading the Diplomats this spring. With a career record of 129-73 at F&M, Cavallaro is one of just two coaches in program history to have over 100 career wins. Restoring the program to national prominence, the Diplomats qualified for the Centennial Conference Tournament in six of the last seven years before winning the 2021 championship which was decided by the regular season standings. He returns assistant coaches David Alyanakian, Rich Lefever, and Roly Shover to his staff All four of those coaches have been a part of one of the most successful runs in program history.
Follow at Home
All F&M home contests are streamed in HD video, free of charge, and simulcast on the Centennial Conference Digital Network (CCDN). Fans can also follow the action through the live stats page, found on the team's schedule page.
In addition to its Roku channel, the Conference will have three new over-the-top (OTT) applications to make broadcasts available – Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Android TV. Home broadcasts that are produced by all 11 members will be available on CentennialConference.TV and the OTT apps.
Follow Along (Social Media)
All of your favorite Diplomat athletic teams are available on social media. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram, like them on Facebook.
