LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team, a squad receiving votes in the latest USILA National Poll, faced another nationally-ranked battle on Saturday before falling 11-10 in overtime against No. 7 Gettysburg. Celebrating Senior Day prior to the opening faceoff, the Diplomats used a 6-3 advantage in the second quarter to build an 8-4 lead before the Bullets were able to mount the late comeback.
Prior to game, the Diplomats honored the careers of their 14 seniors who will make their second Centennial Conference Tournament appearance next week as the F&M finished as the No. 5 seed in the regular season seeding. Seniors honored before Saturday's game were Hogan Rose, Pierce Archer, Kyle Stevenson, George Gervais, Ryan Roberts, Peter Della Volpe, Jack Hagan, Brett Rama, Charlie Bernicker, Matt Hamrah, Kai Kelly, TJ McCabe, Matt Melkonian, and John Donovan.
Senior Kai Kelly had one of the three Diplomat hat tricks on Senior Day, with Jack Luviano and Mason Montrella also scoring three goals. Dillon Mannix would also find the back of the cage inside Shadek Stadium. Both goalies had strong outings, with Teddy Scarborough stopping 14 of the 25 shots on goal that he faced.
The Bullets racked up a 14-8 advantage in shots during the opening quarter, but six saves from Scarborough kept Gettysburg off the board until there were just six seconds remaining in the opening period. Shots shifted to a 14-7 edge in favor of the Diplomats during the second, with all three of F&M's leader scorers finding twine twice before the half. Franklin & Marshall's lead grew to 8-4 as Montrella scored just under five minutes into the third quarter. Nevertheless, four straight goals from the visitors knotted the game before Kelly put his team ahead 9-8 heading to the final period.
Gettysburg led just three times all afternoon, but a pair of goals just one minute apart during the fourth quarter gave the Bullets one of those leads with 8:18 left in regulation. Jack Luviano tied the game at 10-all with 3:05 left in regulation time. Both teams had two possession during that remaining time, but another save from Scarborough denied the only shot during the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Diplomats had a chance at the game-winning overtime after forcing a failed clear from the Bullets off the faceoff, but a save denied that chance before the Bullets countered at the other end with Ethan Kessler registering his game-high fourth goal with 2:20 remaining in the sudden victory overtime period.
Saturday's game was a battle throughout as the Bullets held slight margins in shots (40-29) and shots on goal (25-22). F&M held the advantage in both faceoff wins (14-11) and ground balls (29-28). Owen Hire was one of seven Diplomats who caused a turnover, forcing two giveaways. Jackson Barnhill collected a team-leading four ground balls as one of eight Diplomats with multiple GBs.
As the No. 5 seed, F&M will now travel to Muhlenberg this coming Tuesday for a rematch with the fourth-seeded Mules as it looks to avenge a 9-3 defeat from the regular season. The opening faceoff for Tuesday's first round game will be determined Monday on a playoff conference call.
