GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team closed the 2026 season with an 18-11 loss at the hands of 10th-ranked Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats and Bullets were locked in a tight battle after 15 minutes before the hosts took control of the contest during the middle two periods.
Jack Luviano and Ben Dale had strong showings in the attacking end as that duo finished with five and four goals, respectively. Liam Timmins and Matt Marino also scored throughout the contest while the Bullets saw 12 different players find the back of the cage. Dale finished with a total of six points as he added two assists to finish his first season in Lancaster with 78 points.
Dale's first goal of the game gave the Diplomats a 2-1 lead with 5:42 left in the opening period as Matt Marino tied the game at one following an assist from Timmins. The Bullets pulled away momentarily as they scored four goals in just over two and a half minutes, but Dale had the final two goals of the quarter to set the score at 5-4.
Luviano began to get his offense going during the second quarter as he tallied twice, but he was the only Diplomat to find the back of the cage while Gettysburg put in six throughout the period and took an 11-6 lead into the half. Luviano tallied two more times during the third quarter, with Timmins aiding the offense, but the Bullets countered with five of their own and led 16-9 heading into the final period.
Gettysburg's lead grew to 18-9 before Luviano and Dale capped their impressive offensive showings with the final two goals of the day. The Bullets finished the contest with a 45-34 advantage in shots. The bigger edge in the host's favor was a 33-18 edge in shots on goal, but 15 saves from Teddy Scarborough highlighted the defensive effort.
Owen Krause had the most success for the Diplomats at the faceoff X as he won nine of his 20 attempts on the restart and finished with a team-leading seven ground balls. Owen Hire led the defensive efforts by causing three turnovers, with Jackson Barnhill and Luke Topley also forcing a pair of takeaways.
The Diplomats finish the 2026 season with eight wins, three of which came versus the always-challenging Centennial Conference slate. The team also celebrated 12 seniors a week ago in the team's Senior Day who have left an incredible mark of the program's success during the past four seasons.
