LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 9 Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team opened up Centennial Conference play by doubling up McDaniel, 16-8, inside Shadek Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats led wire-to-wire but it was a 7-1 third quarter advantage where the Diplomats took complete control of the conference contest.

A.J. Rigsby and Will DeMuth each scored four goals in the game, while Blake Target also recorded a hat trick during the victory. James Moroney talled two goals of his own as seven different players rattled the back of the cage for the hosts.

Rigsby completed his hat trick in just under 11 minutes as his third goal of the contest came with 4:06 remaining in the opening period. Will Mollihan also scored during the opening quarter as F&M raced out to a 4-1 advantage after 15 minutes. The Green Terror played an even second quarter as each team scored three goals. Colin Falk, Target, and DeMuth tallied the Diplomat goals in that period as the hosts led 7-4 at the half.

Franklin & Marshall took control of the game by scoring seven goals during the third quarter. F&M tallied five goals in just under four minutes to start the strong period. Rigsby broke the ice with a man-up goal just 11 seconds into the second half, while DeMuth and Moroney each tallied twice during that five-minute outburst. DeMuth also closed the scoring in the third period as he scored three of his four goals in the third period alone.

The goal scoring outburst continued into the early parts of the fourth quarter as Braeden McCarthy and Target added the Diplomats' final two goals of the afternoon. Brett Rama and Colin Hueston registered the assists on those two goals to cap the strong attacking effort. F&M finished the contest with a 52-28 advantage in shots. The Diplomats also held the 43-23 edge in ground balls.

F&M won 21 of the 27 face-offs as Connor Helm secured 17 of his 21 restarts for his side during an outstanding performance. Matthew Freeman was a perfect 2-for-2 in his attempts at the X while Adam Soper also claimed the possession twice. Thanks to strong play on the wing during face-offs, Tristan Lynch collected a team-high seven ground balls, with Connor Helm snatching five more loose balls. Nine different players picked up multiple ground balls throughout the victory. Sage Garito got the start in goal and stopped seven of the 12 shots on goal he faced before George Rioseco and Lachlan Barber came on in the remaining time.

Men's lacrosse will return to action next Wednesday with a huge contest at No. 14 Gettysburg. That CC matchup is slated for a 3:30 p.m. face-off on the battlefield. The Centennial Conference Championship a season ago was decided when the Diplomats and Bullets met in the regular season.