Last Week

Franklin & Marshall battled a pair of tough nationally-ranked opponents at Stevenson's Mustang Classic last weekend. The Diplomats were competitive throughout the majority of both contests, but huge second quarters for the opposition in both games led to a pair of F&M setbacks. During the 16-10 battle last Friday against No. 12 York (Pa.), it was a 7-1 quarter in favor of the Spartans that proved to be the difference. Christian Sullivan led the Diplomat attack with a hat trick and an assist, while Will Mulligan, Will Mollihan, and Tommy Garofalo each scored two goals. Mulligan and Garofalo additionally dished out assists to finish the contest with three points. York (Pa.) got seven goals from Will Harnick and finished with a 54-24 edge in shots. However, 13 saves from Sage Garito and two more from Eric Mueller kept F&M competitive throughout the afternoon.

A 4-1 second quarter in favor of No. 8 Lynchburg proved critical as the Diplomats fell by a 13-12 final. The Diplomats were paced offensively by a three players who each recorded hat tricks. Cullen Decker led F&M with five goals, with Tommy Garofalo and and Christian Sullivan each added three each. Will Mulligan also made his way onto the scoresheet with one goal while adding two assists. Neither team scored more than two goals in a row during the back-and-forth battle that saw the teams level on the scoreboard seven times throughout the 60 minute battle.

Last Time vs. Haverford

The Diploamts and Fords closed their 2022 campaign with a 15-11 F&M victory a season ago. In 2023, this matchup will serve as the conference opener for both squads. Last spring, the Diplomats outscored the Fords 11-3 during the second and third quarters to propel themselves to the victory. Unfortunately, F&M did not get the help it needed around the conference and was eliminated from the Centennial Conference Tournament as it had the tiebreaker ultimately work against them. The Diplomats racked up a season-high 62 shots for their highest total since the February of 2020 at Susquehanna. F&M applied the pressure early with goals from Kai Kelly and Rigsby, but Haverford closed the first quarter on a 4-0 run to take the lead into the second period. F&M started its goal scoring outburst just 34 seconds into the second quarter on a man-up goal from Moroney. That was one of two advantage goals in the period as the six-goal streak also featured a Blake Target man-up goal. Kelly and Moroney each had two goals during the run, with Colin Hueston also rattling the twine.

Haverford Preview

The Fords are 2-5 on the year, with victories against Mary Washington and Susquehanna. Both of their wins have come on the road. Haverford most recently closed out its non-conference schedule with a 10-5 defeat at the hands of Skidmore. Andrew Arth leads Haveford in both goals (12) and points (19). Twelve different players have scored during the team's first seven contests. The Fords' goalies are stopping 51.6 percent of the shots they have faced this year, including a 59.2 percent mark from Jacob Abraham. However, the team has struggled on faceoffs, winning just 39.5 percent of their restart attempts.

Centennial Conference Leaders from Franklin & Marshall (Top 10)

Points
6. Tommy Garofalo - 32
7. Christian Sullivan  - 29

Goals
1. Tommy Garofalo - 29
4. Christian Sullivan - 24

Assists
5. Will Mollihan - 13

Caused Turnovers
2. Kyle Craig - 13

Face-Off Percentage
4. Matthew Freeman - 67.4%

Goals Against Average
7. Eric Mueller - 10.45
9. Sage Garito - 11.00

Save Percentage
5. Sage Garito - 57.3%
9. Eric Mueller - 54.4%