LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team won its home opener in a 16-0 shutout against Messiah under the lights of Shadek Stadium on Tuesday evening. The Diplomats improved to 2-0 on the young season while recording their first shutout since 2001 and just the fourth blanking of an opponent in program history.

Nine different Diplomats scored in the victory, led by four goals from Preston Blue while reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week Ben Dale recorded his second hat trick in as many contests. Liam Timmins and Eli Crystal both scored twice. Rocco Ippoldo and Cole Morris both tallied the first goals of their F&M careers, while Alex Pilling, Jack Luviano, and Dylan Reese also found the back of the cage. Blue added three assists on the night to finish with a career-high seven point outing.

As evidenced by the final score, the Diplomats dominated the play with a 46-19 advantage in total shots. F&M scored on over half of the team's shots on goal with 16 tallies on just 29 shots on goal. F&M additionally had a 35-23 advantage in ground balls and won 15 of the 19 face-offs. Luca Hoffman won 10 of his 12 face-offs to lead those efforts at the X.

In a game that featured 12 extra-man opportunities combined between the teams, the Diplomats scored on three of their seven attempts while holding the Falcons off the board during their five tries at the man advantage.

Reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week Teddy Scarborough picked up the win as he stopped all six shots on goal that he faced during three quarters of game action. William Shaw and Henry Griffith saw the remaining time in the crease – finishing with four and two saves, respectively.

Men's lacrosse will be back at home this Saturday for a 12 p.m. face-off against rival York (Pa.) inside Shadek Stadium.