Game Notes

Last Week

Franklin & Marshall took a huge step towards the Centennial Conference Tournament with an 18-16 win at home against Swarthmore. That result came following F&M's 15-7 setback against No. 9 Gettysburg during the team's midweek matchup. Against the Bears, it was a nearly wire-to-wire victory for the Diplomats despite the Bears being within a single goal of tying the Centennial Conference matchup eight times inside Shadek Stadium. Tommy Garofalo and Will Mollihan both recorded seven points in the CC matchup. Garofalo scored five goals on his way to seven points, while Mollihan put the attack in motion all afternoon with six assists. Those six assists are tied for the ninth-most in a single game in program history. That last player to accomplish that feat was Luke Keating '21, who did so twice during the 2021 season. Christian Sullivan added four goals to the attack, while Cullen Decker finished with four points of his own (2g, 2a). Ten different Diplomats scored throughout the key Centennial Conference victory.

Versus Gettysburg last Wednesday, the Diplomats found themselves facing a 9-0 defiicit with just under five minutes to play before the half in an eventual 15-7 final against Gettysburg in Centennial Conference action on Wednesday night. The Diplomats got the game within five after scoring six of the next eight goals, but came no closer during the final 15 minutes. Cullen Decker had a huge hand in the comeback attempt with three goals and three assists, while Tommy Garofalo and Christian Sullivan each tallied a pair of goals. Gettysburg used a varied attack throughout the victory as 10 different Bullets got their name on the scoresheet.

Last Time vs. Washington College

Franklin & Marshall celebrated its 2022 Senior Day in style with a 16-8 win against the Shoremen. Fittingly enough, it was that senior class who led F&M to the victory on Saturday. A.J. Rigsby tallied nine points, with four goals and five assists. Blake Target added four more goals to go along with his helper. Will DeMuth, Eric Scheuerle, Spencer Hall, and Michael Buttelman also scored throughout the victory while Noah Isaacson added an assist.

The Diplomats more than doubled up the Shoremen in shots, holding a 47-20 advantage in that category. However, 20 saves from the Shoremen's Ryan Leahy helped keep the game closer in the end. Sage Garito finished with a better save percentage overall than his counterpart, turning away 12 of Washington College's 20 shots on goal. Connor Helm collected a game-high seven ground balls after winning nine of his 16 restarts at the face-off X. Adam Soper and Matthew Freeman also saw time on the restart as all three won at least half of their battles. The Diplomats additionally caused 11 turnovers, led by DeMuth's two CTs. Tristan Lynch had a strong game on his Senior Day, scooping up three ground balls and forcing one takeaway. F&M won the ground ball battle by a 50-29 advantage.

Last Time vs. Muhlenberg

Franklin & Marshall scored eight goals during the final 12:44 of regulation to turn an 8-2 deficit into a 10-9 win against Muhlenberg when these teams met in Allentown during the 2022 season. F&M got out to the early lead as A.J. Rigsby scored his 100th career goal just over two minutes into the contest. However, it would be another 30 minutes before his second goal of the game during the third quarter made it a 7-2 contest. The Mules had stretched their lead to an 8-2 advantage by the start of the fourth quarter, with goalie Max May making 13 saves throughout the first 45 minutes.

Nevertheless, the Diplomats broke through in a huge way during that fourth quarter as they outshot the Mules 16-7 over the final 15 and minutes and rattled the back of the cage on eight of their 10 shots on goals. F&M got three goals back in short order as Blake Target, James Moroney, and Rigsby all scored within 2:10 of each other to make the score 8-5. Will Mollihan's goal to make it 8-6 came at the 8:14 mark, but no further scoring occurred until Muhlenberg's Dominick Visintin tallied with 5:07 remaining in regulation. Target got the game back to a two-goal deficit at the 4:12 mark, but it was three goals in just 1:10 of playing time that pushed F&M in front for good.

Washington College Preview

With two huge games towards playoff implications for the Diplomats this week, the Shoremen enter the game with an 8-6 record, including a 2-3 mark against Centennial Conference foes. Washington College will be looking to bounce back from its four-game losing streak which have all come against nationally-ranked opponents. Centennial Conference points leader Ewan Temple has 44 goals and 24 assists on the season, totaling 68 points on the year. Connor Garrison and Brady McFalls have also eclipsed the 20 goal mark so far this season. The Shoremen are event in ground balls and caused turnovers for the year while winning just a fraction over 50 percent of their faceoffs. Goalie Cole Corrigan has stopped 53.3 percent of the shots that he has faced and holds a 12.18 GAA.

Muhlenberg Preview

The Mules come into Saturday's Senior Day with the No. 19 national ranking. Sitting at 9-4 overall, Muhlenberg owns a 4-2 Centennial Conference record that includes wins against Dickinson, Washington College, McDaniel, and Ursinus. Swarthmore and Gettysburg have been the only teams to triumph against the Mules in CC play to date. Wyatt Malia is leading the team with 24 goals and 40 total points. James Dallimonte (21 goals) and Jason Metz (20 goals) are also threats for the team that has seven different players with double digit scoring totals on the season. Muhlenberg is winning 48.1 percent of its faceoffs, with Griffin Minuto and Michael Drago sharing the attempts this season. Max May has started all 13 games and is allowing just 9.34 goals per game while stopping 52 percent of the shots that he has faced.

Centennial Conference Leaders from Franklin & Marshall (Top 10)

Points
6. Tommy Garofalo - 51
10. Christian Sullivan - 43

Goals
2. Tommy Garofalo - 42
4. Christian Sullivan - 37

Assists
3. Will Mollihan - 26

Caused Turnovers
3. Kyle Craig - 23

Face-Off Percentage
5. Matthew Freeman - 60.5%

Goals Against Average
7. Sage Garito - 11.56
9. Eric Mueller - 11.69

Save Percentage
3. Sage Garito - 55.7%
7. Eric Mueller - 51.2%