CARLISLE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team gave No. 16 Dickinson all it could handle in a thrilling Centennial Conference matchup on Wednesday night, ultimately falling to the nationally-ranked Red Devils by a 9-8 final. The Diplomats got within a goal with 9:25 to play in the fourth quarter, but could not find the equalizer during those remaining minutes.

Dickinson raced out to the early advantage with the only three goals of the opening quarter, including one with just a second to play before the end of the opening period. However, F&M came back and tied the game at four-all with its strongest quarter of the night just before the half. F&M registered 26 shots and scored on eight of its 12 shots on goal. That included four goals on just five shots on goal during the second quarter, with Dillon Mannix and Kai Kelly both finding twine twice during that period.

Preston Blue and Kelly provided the F&M offense during the third quarter. The Red Devils' lead grew to 9-6 early in the fourth before Mason Montrella and Jack Luviano scored just three and half minutes apart to make the score 9-8 and set up a thrilling final nine-plus minutes. That exciting finish included the Diplomats hitting the post in a bid for the game-tying goal as Dickinson was able to escape with the victory on its home field.

The Red Devils held the edge in both shots (33-26) and shots on goal (25-12), but a huge 16 save performance from Teddy Scarborough kept his side in the game all night long. Pierce Archer forced two caused turnovers to lead a defense which saw six different players record a CT. Owen Krause handled the bulk of the face-offs, winning eight of his 18 restarts to finish with a team-best four ground balls.

Men's lacrosse wraps up the road portion of its regular season schedule this Saturday, April 19 with a 3 p.m. start at Swarthmore That contest represents another chance for the Diplomats to earn a nationally-ranked win as the Garnet are ranked 17th in the latest USILA national poll.