LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team hosted Senior Day on Saturday against Muhlenberg. Unfortunately, the Mules spoiled the festivities with a 13-7 victory over the Diplomats. Prior the game, the Diplomats honored the eight members of their senior class.

Christian Sullivan finished with a hat trick, while Will Mollihan, Kai Kelly, Tommy Garofalo, and Cullen Decker also found the back of the cage. Ethan Grossman led the Mules with three goals and three assists in a battle of the fourth and fifth place teams in the Centennial Conference standings.

The Mules jumped out to the early lead and never looked backed as they led 6-1 and were eventually up 10-3 at the half. Muhlenberg was up 5-0 just over 10 minutes into the contest before Cullen Decker scored F&M's first goal of the afternoon with 3:12 remaining in the opening period. Sullivan and Kelly both added second quarter goals for the hosts after the Mules scored the first three of that period.

Franklin & Marshall outpaced the Mules by a 4-3 margin during the second half, as Sullivan capped his hat trick with 20 seconds to go in regulation time. Nevertheless, the damage had been done. The Diplomats finished with a 44-38 advantage in shots and a 17-7 advantage in faceoffs. However, 13 saves from the Mules' goalies loomed large in the visiting victory. Adam Soper led the faceoff efforts with a 12-for-13 effort, with Matthew Freeman and Connor Helm also added wins throughout the day.

Soper's big day at the X led to a team-high seven ground balls, with Pierce Archer and Kyle Craig added four more throughout the Centennial Conference contest. Eric Mueller played just over 40 minutes and made six saves, with Sage Garito adding three more during his start.

Men's lacrosse will now enter the final week of the regular season tied for fifth with Haverford in the regular season standings. The Diplomats can officially punch their ticket into the Centennial Conference Tournament with a win against McDaniel in the regular season finale which is set for next Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in Westminster.