Game Notes

Last Week

With an odd number of teams in the Centennial Conference, the Diplomats are coming off of a full bye week. When the Diplomats were last in action they dropped a 13-6 final against an upstart Swarthmore team. Christian Sullivan tallied twice in the conference showdown for the visiting Diplomats, while Will Mulligan, Will Mollihan, Tommy Garofalo, and Cullen Decker also rattled the back of the cage on Saturday. Swarthmore countered with four multi-goal performances on its home turf.

Despite the final score, F&M did win the face-off (14-8) and ground ball (26-23) battle against the Garnet. Matthew Freeman took all but one of the restarts at the X and was 66 percent (14-of-21) on those attempts. Starting goalie Sage Garito picked up a team-leading four ground balls and was one of eight Diplomats with multiple GBs throughout the afternoon. Garito made nine saves during the first 30 minutes before Eric Mueller added four more saves during the second half. Swarthmore goalie Ryan Pretzer stopped 15 of the 21 shots on goal he faced as the hosts finished with a slight 42-37 edge in total shots.

Last Time vs. Gettysburg

The No. Diplomats took their first CC regular season defeat in nearly three years with a 10-6 setback against No. 13 Gettysburg. That game was a rematch of the 2021 contest that went in favor of the Diplomats on their home field as they locked up the Centennial Conference Championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  A.J. Rigsby was on the prowl early against the Bullets as he tallied a hat trick just over 11 minutes into the contest, giving his side a 2-0 and eventual 3-2 advantage. However, a strong second quarter would ultimately tip the final score in the Bullets' favor. Gettysburg scored five unanswered goals during those 15 minutes before the half, leading 7-3 before holding on for the win.

Gettysburg held just a slight 43-37 advantage in shots, but was much more effective at putting those attempts on target as they finished with a 28-19 edge in shots on goal. Sage Garito came up huge with 18 saves to keep his team in the game. He made seven of those saves during the first quarter alone. However, 13 saves from Gettysburg's Scott MacMillan – including seven during the second half – prevented F&M from coming any closer. The Bullets also held slight advantages in ground balls (30-26) and face-off wins (12-8) while the Diplomats had a very strong penalty kill that did not allow any goals during four man-up chances for the Bullets. Brendan Murphy registered two of F&M's six caused turnovers on the day while Kyle Craig's four ground balls led those efforts.

Last Time vs. Ursinus

Franklin & Marshall mounted a furious second half rally and completely erased the five-goal deficit that it was facing at the half versus Ursinus. Nevertheless, after F&M tied the game at 12 and eventually 13-all, Ursinus tallied the game-winner with 5:38 remaining in regulation time. During a 4-1 third quarter advantage, Will DeMuth scored three goals while Kai Kelly also finished the conference contest with a hat trick. James Moroney (2g, 1a) and Colin Falk (two goals) also scored twice throughout the afternoon.

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair as the Diplomats got the opening goal of the matchup from Colin Hueston before Falk leveled the contest at two. Will Mollihan tallied another game-tying goal just before the end of the period, but the Bears would carry a 4-3 lead into the second with a strike that came with 48 seconds left in the period. Eddy Madden tied the game at four-all just 39 seconds into the second quarter, but that period ultimately finished with an 11-6 advantage for the homestanding Bears on the strength of a 7-3 scoring advantage. Falk and Kelly did tally throughout that quarter for the F&M offense. Just when it appeared as though the Bears had all the momentum on their side, DeMuth took matters into his own hands with three goals over a span of five-plus minutes. Moroney also scored to give F&M four total goals during that span as the Ursinus lead was trimmed to 11-10. Ursinus made a late goalie change midway through the fourth quarter as Chris Porzelt stopped the only two shots on goal he faced during that remaining time. That included a save with 21 seconds remaining to deny the Diplomats another equalizer.

Gettysburg Preview

The Bullets come into Wednesday's showdown under the Shadek Stadium lights as the No. 9 team in the latest USILA rankings. The Bullets have been ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation this year, but are looking to bounce back from a tough 12-11 overtime loss at Swarthmore this past weekend. Gettysburg did take part in the Mustang Classic, but did not have any common opponents with the Diplomats. The Bullets got a boost to their national resume when they beat then-No. 1 Salisbury and followed that up with a 14-12 victory against Stevenson as part of four straight wins to begin the season. The Bullets own victories against Ursinus, Haverford, and McDaniel in CC action to date. Kyle Howard paces the attack with 30 goals, while Ethan Kessler and Jack Dunleavy have found the back of the cage 20 times each. The Bullets have two face-off men (Jonathan Moshe (122-for-232) and Michael Voehringer (28-for53)) who are both facing off at above 50 percent on the year. Three different players have caused at least 10 turnovers while Colin LaForty and Chase Morgan have split time in goal. Both have nearly identical GAAs that are just under nine.

Ursinus Preview

Revenge will certainly be on the Diplomats' mind when they take on the Bears as Ursinus secured one of the final playoff spots a season in the Centennial Conference Tournament a season ago. Ursinus is still receiving votes nationally despite just a 1-2 start to conference play as the Bears own wins against nationally-ranked Stevenson and have defeated McDaniel during the early part of the conference slate. Ursinus will be looking to rebound after a 14-9 loss this past weekend at home against Haverford. Tyler Neal is certainly the focus of the offense as she has double the total points of his closest teammate (48), with 31 goals and 17 assists. Both of those totals are team highs. Dominic Nottoli has won over 56 percent of his face-offs, while Nils Updale is just below 60 percent as the team's second option at the X. Jonathan Singer has seen the vast majority of the time in goal and is stopping nearly 54 percent of the shots he has faced while allowing 11.24 goals per game.

Centennial Conference Leaders from Franklin & Marshall (Top 10)

Points
5. Tommy Garofalo - 42
10. Christian Sullivan - 37

Goals
2. Tommy Garofalo - 35
4. Christian Sullivan - 31

Assists
6. Will Mollihan - 19

Caused Turnovers
5. Kyle Craig - 17

Face-Off Percentage
5. Matthew Freeman - 60.0%

Goals Against Average
8. Eric Mueller - 10.67
9. Sage Garito - 10.96

Save Percentage
3. Sage Garito - 57.1%
7. Eric Mueller - 53.6%