LANCASTER, Pa. – First-year Tommy Garofalo scored seven goals in his collegiate debut to lead the Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team to an 18-6 win over Lebanon Valley in the season opener inside Shadek Stadium on Saturday. The Diplomats moved to 1-0 on the year after receiving votes in the USILA preseason polls.

Garofalo's seven goals are tied for the 10th-most in a single game in program history. The last Diplomat player to accomplish that feat was Kevin Mollihan who scored seven golas at Susquehanna in February of 2020. Christian Sullivan had another strong game for the Diplomats with three goals and three assists, while Will Mulligan and Charlie Bernicker each tallied two goals. Kai Kelly (one goal, one assist), Liam Timmons (one goal, one assist), and Cullen Decker (three assists) additionally registered multi-point openers.

Leading just 3-2 after LVC scored just over two minutes into the second quarter, the Diplomats scored 12 of the next 13 goals to take a commanding 15-3 lead just past the midway point of the third quarter. The Diplomats only surrendered a man-up goal in the second quarter to the Dutchmen during that extended defensive lockdown.

Sage Garito got the start in the cage and stopped four of the seven shots on goal he faced in the first half before Eric Mueller took over during the start of the third quarter. Mueller made six stops as he faced nine shots on goal before John Donovan wrapped up the game in the cage. The Diplomats finished the game with a 51-32 advantage in shots and stopped over 62 percent of Lebanon Valley's shots on goal.

Franklin & Marshall also held commanding advantages in ground balls (43-22) and face off victories (19-9). Matthew Freeman won 16 of his 22 attempts at the face-off X, while Connor Helm added a 3-for-5 afternoon. Freeman's big day allowed him to collect a game-high seven ground balls throughout the contest. Helm additionally aided the team's offense with one of his face off wins resulting an immediate goal, while Peter Della Volpe added the first goal of his career during the afternoon.

After taking the season opener, the Diplomats will head out on the road this coming Wednesday, February 22 for a game at Messiah. The contest is slated for a 7 p.m. opening face off and will be the first of two road contests during the coming week.