Game Notes

Last Week

The Diplomats enter their Centennial Conference opener coming off of a 1-1 week with a 17-15 defeat at Roanoke last Wednesday before bouncing back with a 19-10 win at home against Elizabethtown. The Diplomats and Maroons were tied on eight different occasions, the last of which left the two sides in a 13-all deadlock heading into the final 15 minutes of the contest in Virginia. During that remaining time, it was host Roanoke who won the fourth quarter by a 4-2 score and came away with the 17-15 victory. Ten different Diplomats rattled the back of the cage during the high scoring affair, including two goals each from Kai Kelly, Dillon Mannix, Mason Montrella, Christian Sullivan, and Liam Timmins. Timmins additionally assisted on two goals for a team-high four points.

Against local rival Elizabethtown, the Diplomats outscored the Blue Jays 13-4 between the second and third quarters this past Saturday to pace a 19-10 win. After scoring the game-winning goal during the final seconds against Kenyon last weekend, Jack Luviano led the Diplomats' attack with seven points (four goals, three assists) in this non-conference matchup. Kyle Stevenson and Colin Hueston also recorded hat tricks during the victory, with Stevenson also assisting on a goal to give him four points. In addition to nearly doubling up the Blue Jays on the scoreboard, F&M was very close to doing the same in shots as the hosts held a 60-31 advantage in that category. Adam Soper had a very strong day of the face-off X as he won 20 of the 32 restarts and finished with 14 ground balls for third-highest total in school history after he broke the school's single game record with 19 to start the season against Lebanon Valley. That total helped F&M hold a 44-36 advantage in ground balls.

Last Time vs. Haverford

The Diplomats and Fords also opened Centennial Conference play against each other during the 2023 season. During last year's CC opener, the Diplomats outscored the Fords during each of the first three quarters and eventually built a 15-3 advantage during the fourth before the last whistle of the 16-6 final. Liam Timmins led nine goal scorers for the Diplomats as he rattled the back of the cage four times during the Centennial Conference opener. James Moroney, Christian Sullivan, Colin Hueston, and Will Mollihan all added two goals throughout the victory.

F&M posted a 56-49 advantage in shots, and won 15 of the 24 faceoffs, while holding a 46-25 advantage in ground balls. Twenty-two different Diplomats recorded at least one ground ball during the contest, with Helm's six GBs pacing those efforts. Helm earned most of his ground balls during his 15 face-off victories in Saturday's contest. Kyle Craig and Garofalo each added two caused turnovers to the team's defensive efforts. Sage Garito picked up the win in goal as he made six saves before Eric Mueller stopped five more shots during the second half of action.

Haverford Preview

Haverford is 4-4 on the year and comes into the week on the heels of a program-record 27 goals scored as a team during a 27-5 victory against Drew this past Saturday. The only common opponent that F&M and Haverford share is Lebanon Valley. F&M was a 20-10 winner against LVC during the season opener, while the Fords won 18-12 against the Flying Dutchmen. Sophomore Reid Tietjen is leading the Fords with 44 points this season as he has scored 29 goals and assisted on 15 more. Matt Richards (21 goals) and Evan Wolpert (20 goals) have also eclipsed the 20 goal mark through the team's first eight games.

The Fords are winning nearly 56 percent of their faceoffs with Teddy Carlin (87-for-156) leading those efforts which has helped him collect a team-high 56 ground balls. Danny Hoehler leads the defense with 20 caused turnovers on the season. Jacob Abraham has started all eight games in goal for the Fords. He has stopped exactly half of the 186 shots on goal has faced this season, allowing 13.80 goals per game.

Centennial Conference Leaders from Franklin & Marshall (Top 10)

Points
5. Kai Kelly - 27

Goals
2. Kai Kelly - 22

Ground Balls
1. Adam Soper - 58

Caused Turnovers
5. Brendan Murphy - 12

Face-Off Percentage
4. Adam Soper - .578

Goals Against Average
3. Sage Garito - 9.89

Saves
1. Sage Garito - 96

Save Percentage
3. Sage Garito - .558