Last Week

Jack Luviano's goal with six seconds remaining in regulation gave Franklin & Marshall a 10-9 win against visiting Kenyon last Saturday inside Shadek Stadium. That game-winning goal capped a back-and-fourth contest that saw the score tied on seven different occasions before the Diplomats secured the final strike. Luviano's goal – which was his second of the afternoon – came after the Owls had tied the score at nine-all with 6:54 remaining in regulation. Luviano joined Mason Montrella as F&M's multi-goal scorers during the non-conference showdown as both players finished with two goals and one assist. Kai Kelly assisted on the game-winning goal and added three more points to the offensive totals (1 goal, 2 assists) as seven different Franklin & Marshall players found the back of the cage during the victory.

The non-conference clash was tied all six times as the score climbed to 6-6 midway through the third quarter. The Diplomats' held a two-goal advantage for the first time all afternoon when Ryan Roberts and Luviano scored back-to-back goals just 1:53 apart during the third quarter. Colin Hueston helped F&M match that two goal lead at 9-7 when he rattled the cage just under 90 seconds into the fourth quarter.

While the defense certainly came up with a number of key stops during the fourth quarter, that unit was an overall strength for the Diplomats throughout the contest. Sage Garito stopped 18 of the 27 shots on goal he faced, with his counterpart making 12 saves. Kevin O'Connor and Drew Martin each caused two turnovers in front of F&M's goalie. Pierce Archer led the Diplomats with four ground balls.

Last Time vs. Roanoke

The then-No. 16 Diplomats scored six consecutive goals during the first quarter, jumping out to a 7-1 advantage, against visiting Roanoke during the 2023 matchup. F&M would never look back in their non-conference battle, finishing out a 14-9 victory over the Maroons at home. Christian Sullivan registered a hat trick during the victory, Will Mulligan and Cullen Decker both scored twice, Colin Hueston (1 g, 2 a) added three points to help pace the attack. Roanoke finished with a 45-42 edge in shots, but the Diplomats made 18 combined saves between Sage Garito and Eric Mueller while the Maroons stopped just nine Diplomat shots on goal.

Garito got the start and made five saves, four of which came during F&M's huge run during the first 15 minutes or regulation. Mueller started the second half and stopped 13 of the 18 shots on goal he faced during the final 30 minutes. Kyle Craig led F&M's defense with three caused turnovers, while Falk forced two more giveaways in addition to his production in the attacking part of the field. F&M finished with a 43-36 edge in ground balls, bolstered by a game-high nine from Helm during his impressive work on restarts.

Last Time vs. Elizabethtown

F&M suffered its first defeat of the 2023 season on the second night of back-to-back games at Elizabethtown. It took overtime, but the host Blue Jays tied the score with two goals during the final 2:03 of playing time before netting the game-winner in overtime. Christian Sullivan helped to pace the attack three goals. Will Mulligan, Will Mollihan, and Liam Timmins also had multiple points as the Diplomats led 10-5 at the half before the Blue Jays mounted their second half comeback. The included a 4-1 fourth quarter advantage for the Blue Jays to force overtime.

Late in regulation, the Diplomats got a huge caused turnover from Pierce Archer with under a minute to play, but fired of a pair of potential game-winning attempts wide of target as the clock ticked down to zero. Franklin & Marshall seemed to have another caused turnover in the overtime period, but a penalty gave the Blue Jays an extra-man opportunity that they converted for the 14-13 final.

Franklin & Marshall's goalies combined for 17 saves on the night, compared just 11 from their counterpart. Sage Garito made 12 stops during the first half before Eric Mueller made five more during his 31-plus minutes in the crease. Men's lacrosse will now have just over a week to prepare for another set of back-to-back games when the team travels to Stevenson for the Mustang Classic where it will play No. 10 York (Mar. 17) and No. 9 Lynchburg (Mar. 18).

Roanoke Preview

Roanoke sits at 5-2 on the year after the Maroons won their first five contests. However, they will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak entering this week which includes a 15-13 setback at the hands of Centennial Conference foe Dickinson. Wyatt Whitlow (23 goals) and Luca Docking (21 goals) led the attack as both players are tied for the team lead with 32 points. Luke Kammerman (17 goals, 15 assists) also has 32 points as a versitile weapon on the attack. The Maroons have won nearly 53 percent of the face-offs this season, with Jake Brader (88-for-158; 55.7%) leading those efforts. Brader has also collected a team-best 45 ground balls thanks in large part to his efforts at the X.

Weston Hammond and RT Williamson have each caused 12 turnovers through Roanoke's first seven games to help the Maroons caused 77 turnovers as a team during that span. Four different goalies have seen playing time, but Alex Feuer has started every game and is stopping 51.1 percent of the shots that he has faced to date. As a teaw, Roanoke is allowing just over 11 goals per game while scoring exactly 19 through their first seven contests.

Elizabethtown Preview

The Blue Jays are 1-3 entering the week, with two of their losses coming to Centennial Conference opponents Washington College (L, 15-9) and Swarthmore (L, 22-8). However, the Blue Jays did pick up their first win of the season in their most recent outing when they defeated St. Mary's (Md.) by a 17-10 final. Elizabethtown comes into the game averaging over 11 goals per game, but the Blue Jays' leading goal scorers (Gavin Gismondi & Colin Kondracki) have just seven goals each as 15 different ETown players have tallied a goal on the season. Opponents have been getting the better of the Blue Jays at the face-off X as ETown is winning just under 40 percent of the restarts.

Goalie Brayden Franey is stopping 43.8 percent of the shots he has faced this season and is allowing 16.07 goals per game. Connor Stewart and Lucas Kohler lead Elizabethtown with six caused turnovers on the year.

Centennial Conference Leaders from Franklin & Marshall (Top 10)

Points
3. Kai Kelly - 22

Goals
2. Kai Kelly - 18

Ground Balls
1. Adam Soper - 38

Caused Turnovers
5. Brendan Murphy - 11

Face-Off Percentage
5. Adam Soper - .593

Goals Against Average
2. Sage Garito - 8.61

Saves
1. Sage Garito - 78

Save Percentage
2. Sage Garito - .609