ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team had a back-and-forth battle at Muhlenberg for the majority of game action before a late 6-0 run in the second half paved the way to the Mules' 15-10 victory.
Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg were tied on four occasions throughout the Centennial Conference matchup of two teams looking to secure their place in the postseason. The final tie of the afternoon came at four-all when Matt Marino's second goal put his side up 4-3 only to be answered two minutes later. Ben Dale and Jack Luviano also scored during the early minutes of the game.
Muhlenberg went on a mini 3-0 run to gain the first two-goal lead of the day for either team, but Mason Montrella answered less than one minute later. Carter Connors and Luviano had two goals just 37 seconds apart in the third quarter to make the score 8-7 before the host Mules ran off six consecutive goals later in that period while carrying the momentum into the start of the fourth.
Trailing 14-7 with just under 13 minutes to play, Connors scored twice in the remaining minutes to finish with a team-best three goals. Luviano also capped his hat trick down the stretch as F&M got to within four goals, 14-10, with over five minutes to play before the final goal of the day went to Muhlenberg.
Muhlenberg held a slight 47-43 advantage in shots, but recorded a 29-17 advantage in shots on goal. F&M goalie Teddy Scarborough made 14 saves to keep the Mules at bay for much of the afternoon, including 10 saves during the opening 30 minutes. Muhlenberg finished with just seven saves, but four of those came during the crucial final 15 minutes of regulation.
Owen Krause led F&M's faceoff efforts by winning eight of his 14 restarts while racking up a team-leading seven ground balls. Jackson Barnhill caused two turnovers to lead the defense in addition to registering an assist in transition.
Men's lacrosse will have its final two-game week of the regular season upcoming, with both of those contests at home. The team's Pack the Dip Zone game will be Wednesday, April 15 with a 7 p.m. faceoff versus Dickinson. Senior Day will be contested on Saturday, April 18 at 3 p.m. versus Swarthmore.
