GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team used a 9-0 run that spanned the first through third quarters to pace a 15-7 win at Messiah on Wednesday night. The Diplomats (2-0), a team receiving votes in the national poll, were up 10-1 after that extended stretch and never looked back during the non-conference victory.

Christian Sullivan led Franklin & Marshall with five goals. Reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week Tommy Garofalo added another hat trick, giving him 10 goals during the team's first two contests. Will Mollihan was the team's high point producer as she scored twice and dished out four assists, while Cullen Decker added two more goals. Will Mulligan, Colin Hueston, and Liam Timmons also found the back of the cage during the 15-7 final.

The Diplomats struck first as Decker took a feed from Mollihan and put his team up 1-0 just 64 seconds into the contest. Messiah answered back at the 11:28 mark of the opening period, but the Diplomats would not allow the Eagles to score their second goal of the night until the 7:11 mark of the third quarter.

Holding the hosts scoreless for 34:17 certainly gave Franklin & Marshall plenty of chances to pull away and they definitely took advantage. Sullivan scored four of his five goals during that 9-0 run, with five other players tallying a single goal. Mollihan and Mulligan each had two helpers during that period of dominance, with single assists on three other goals that also featured a helper from Colin Falk.

Franklin & Marshall outscored Messiah during each of the first three quarters before the teams both tallied four times during the final 15 minutes of play. The Diplomats finished the contest with a 46-30 advantage in shots, 30-20 edge in ground balls, and a huge 18-7 advantage in face-off wins.

Even with several less chances, the F&M goalies made nine combined saves in the crease compared to just eight from the Eagles. Sage Garito got the start in goal and stopped four of the five shots on goal he faced throughout the first half. Eric Mueller once again started the second half and came away with five saves.

The domination at the face-off X was a dual effort from both Matthew Freeman and Connor Helm. Freeman won 11-of-14, while Helm claimed seven wins in 11 restarts. Brendan Murphy secured a team-high four ground balls as one of nine Diplomats with multiple GBs on the evening. Four different players caused a turnover for the F&M defense.

Men's lacrosse will be back on the road this Saturday as it treks to the nation's capital for a 1 p.m. opening faceoff against Catholic. Both teams enter that contest currently receiving votes in the national rankings.