LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team gave No. 7 York (Pa.) all it could handle on Saturday afternoon inside Shadek Stadium. The Diplomats (2-1) outscored the Spartans 3-1 during a fourth quarter rally that ended in a 9-8 York (Pa.) victory.

Returning All-American Dillon Mannix made his season debut and led the Diplomats with four goals. Eli Crystal also tallied twice, with Liam Timmons and Jack Luviano finding the back of the cage. Defensively, Teddy Scarborough had a huge game in goal with 17 saves against nine goals for a .653 save percentage.

The Spartans got off to the quick start as they led 3-1 after 15 minutes of action. The scoring starting early with a goal just nine seconds into the contest. Nevertheless, Franklin & Marshall began to work its way back into the game with three consecutive goals during the second quarter. Crystal, Mannix, and Timmons all scored in a span of just 2:35 to give the home side a 4-3 lead.

York (Pa.) answered late in the first half with a pair of goals during the final 2:07 of the second quarter. The Spartans carried that momentum into the second half where the run extended to 5-1 as Crystal had the only F&M goal during the third quarter.

Trailing 8-5, F&M got back-to-back goals from Luviano and Mannix in the middle of the fourth quarter to crawl within a single goal. Mannix also finished a feed from Crystal with 3:38 left in regulation time, but the Spartans got a pair of turnovers against F&M in that remaining time to secure the victory.

The play from both goalies was strong of York (Pa.)'s Nash Womack made 10 saves. F&M held an 11-9 edge in face-off wins, with the Spartans taking the ground ball edge by a 25-19 margin. Luca Hoffman was 8-for-14 at the X, with Owen Krause winning half of his six face-off attempts. Ben Fenton finished with a team-high five ground balls and finished alongside Owen Hire as the two players who caused multiple turnovers.

Men's lacrosse will now have just under a week before making a trip to Pittsburgh, Pa. and Shady Side Academy on Friday, February 27 where the Diplomats will play Ohio Wesleyan. That contest is set for a 4 p.m. start.