SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team officially clinched its spot in the Centennial Conference Tournament with a 14-12 win against No. 17 Swarthmore. In order to pick up the win against the nationally-ranked Garnet (11-4, 4-3 CC), the Diplomats (11-4, 5-2 CC) scored eight of the final 11 goals after trailing by three midway through the third quarter.
Tied at 12-all after the Garnet tallied with 3:46 to play, Dillon Mannix scored twice during the final two minutes to ultimately give the Diplomats the victory. Those goals gave him a team-leading four goals on the day, with Jack Luviano and Mason Montrella adding their own hat tricks to the winning effort.
Despite needing to rally late, it was F&M who got off to a quick start with goals from Jackson Barnhill and Montrella before the Garnet ran off four straight goals. Swarthmore carried a 7-5 lead into the half despite goals from Mannix, Eli Crystal, and Luviano.
Liam Timmins got the scoring restarted less than two minutes into the second half before back-to-back goals from the hosts gave them a game-high three-goal lead at 9-6 with 7:55 remaining in the third. The Diplomats tied the game with goals from each of their three high scorers, with Montrella's second of the period tying the game at 10 heading to the final quarter.
Franklin & Marshall certainly made the most of its man-up chances, converting all three of those opportunities over the final 15 minutes. The first came when Kai Kelly got his name on the scoresheet. The Garnet tied the game with 5:37 to play, but another advantage goal from Luviano put the Diplomats back in front with just over four minutes to play.
Swarthmore needed less than a minute to provide another answer. The visitors won the ensuing face-off and scored less than two minutes later to take the lead. F&M again took the face-off victory, but the Garnet would claim the possession before a pair of saves from Teddy Scarborough denied the Garnet's bid at the game-tying goal. With F&M back in possession and holding a one-goal lead, the Garnet were called offsides with 32 seconds to play and Mannix added the 14th and final goal with eight seconds left in regulation.
Scarborough was a huge presence in goal throughout the game as he made 19 saves in the victory after the Garnet held slight advantages in shots (40-39). The Diplomats claimed a 32-28 advantage in ground balls. Owen Krause won eight face-offs, including two huge wins late, to finish with a team-high five ground balls. Ten different Diplomats finished with multiple ground balls, while Luke Topley, Kelly, and Barnhill each caused multiple turnovers.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Diplomats are tied with Muhlenberg for third place in the Centennial Conference standings. The regular season finale, which will also be Senior Day, will take inside Shadek Stadium on Saturday, April 26. That game against the first-place Bullets is set for 3 p.m. start.
