LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team used a dominant second quarter to pull away from Elizabethtown and never looked back during a 17-10 victory inside Shadek Stadium. The Diplomats (3-2) outscored the visiting Blue Jays (1-4) 6-0 during the second quarter as part of an overall 8-0 run to break the game open.
Liam Timmons, Ben Dale, and Jack Luviano each scored a pair of goals during that extended run that started with a 5-3 deficit and ended with a 10-5 lead. All three of those players finished the afternoon with hat tricks, led by four goals from Luviano. Timmins and Dale each tallied three times during the victory as nine different Diplomats found the back of the cage.
Dale started the scoring just 43 seconds into the contest, with goals by Luviano and Dillon Mannix putting the hosts up 3-2 midway through the quarter. Elizabethtown held its largest lead of the game after three consecutive tallies, but the Diplomats answered in a big way during the second quarter. Dale finished with a team-leading six points, assisting on the first two tallies in the run which also featured goals from Eli Crystal and Preston Blue.
Matt Marino had a pair of goals after the Blue Jays broke their scoreless stretch that reached nearly 20 minutes during the third quarter. Ryan Rubino added his name to the list of scorers during the 3-0 run in the third before Dylan Reese was the final Diplomat to add his name to the scoresheet late in the fourth quarter.
Franklin & Marshall finished with a 53-34 advantage in shots, holding a 33-21 edge in shots on goal. Teddy Scarborough once again stopped over half of the shots he faced, making 11 saves on the day. Fueled by a 16-14 edge in face-off wins, the Diplomats additionally held a 29-18 edge in ground balls. Owen Krause and Luca Hoffman headlined the face-off efforts as each finished with a team-high four ground balls. In addition to his attacking exploits, Dale led the Diplomats with three caused turnovers.
Men's lacrosse will return to action next weekend with back-to-back games in a home tournament. Up first will be a 12 p.m. noon face-off against Endicott on Saturday, March 14. Hamilton and Connecticut College will also take part in the event.
