HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team, a squad receiving votes in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Assocation (USILA) national polls, dropped a hard-fought 13-12 double overtime battle at Haverford on Saturday to begin Centennial Conference play.
The Diplomats raced out to a 4-0 lead just over 10 minutes into the game and were up 6-2 late in the first quarter. However, the Fords had a 5-0 run and later a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 advantage. Nevertheless, the Diplomats responded with a 4-0 run of their own that eventually tied the game at 12 with 1:49 left in regulation before the Fords found the game-winner during the second overtime session.
Kai Kelly, Ryan Connelly, Liam Timmins, and Colin Hueston got Franklin & Marshall out to the early 4-0 lead, with the first three of those goals coming during the opening five-plus minutes of regulation. Jackson Barnhill, Ryan Roberts, and Mason Montrella answered Haverford goals to keep the score at a four-goal lead for the Diplomats.
Montrella's tally set the score at 7-3 with 5:31 remaining in the opening half before the Fords went on their first run which started at the 3:46 mark of the second quarter and lasted until the 6:06 mark of the third. Kelly's second goal of the afternoon tied the game at eight-all, but four consecutive goals from Haverford in a span of 7:58 gave the hosts a 12-8 edge with 9:19 remaining in regulation.
Jack Luviano snapped that last Haverford run with a goal just 26 seconds later before Ryan Roberts tallied his second goal of the day just 45 seconds after that to make the score 12-10 with 8:08 remaining in regulation. Following his assist on the previous goal, Dillon Mannix converted his own scoring opportunity with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter. Christian Sullivan forced the overtime sessions with his man-up goal that came with 1:49 remaining in regulation.
The Diplomats finished the game with a 64-39 advantage in shots, including a 31-22 edge in shots on goal. However, 19 saves from the Fords' Jacob Abraham kept his side in the game long enough to find the game-winner just 53 seconds into the second overtime in what was Haverford's only shot of the extra time.
Franklin & Marshall also dominated in face-off wins with a 24-4 advantage at the X. Adam Soper took each of those restarts and collected a game-high 12 ground balls to help his side to a 45-30 advantage in GBs. Sage Garito made nine saves in the Centennial Conference opener while five different F&M players caused a turnover.
Men's lacrosse continues Centennial Conference play this coming week as the Diplomats host both Dickinson (Mar. 27; 7 p.m.) and Swarthmore (Mar. 30; 12 p.m.) inside Shadek Stadium.
