Game Notes

Last Week

The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team officially clinched its spot in the 2023 Centennial Conference Tournament with a 20-5 road win at McDaniel. The Diplomats were presented with a win-and-in situation and they certainly capitalized from the onset. F&M begin its postseason journey this coming Tuesday at Muhlenberg. F&M won all four quarters during the Centennial Conference matchup against the Green Terror as they were up 13-2 at the break and matched their largest lead of the night with the final goal of the evening after scoring the first five during the wire-to-wire victory.

Eleven different players scored a goal, while 15 registered a point, during the playoff-clinching victory. The biggest offensive output of the night belonged to Tommy Garofalo as he scored five goals and assisted on three more. Teammates Christian Sullivan, Will Mulligan, Will Mollihan, Kai Kelly, Brett Rama each added two more goals to the winning effort. The Diplomats finished with 63 shots on the night and dominated the ground ball battle to a 42-22 edge. F&M also had the 17-12 edge at the face-off X with Matthew Freeman's 14-for-22 night leading those efforts. F&M's goalies combined for a nearly 69 percent save percentage in less than ideal conditions. Sage Garito earned the win by stopping four of the six shots he faced in the first half. Eric Mueller stopped five of the seven he was tasked with before John Donovan added two more stops. Lachlan Barber wrapped up the game in goal as the time ran out on the regular season.

Last Time vs. Muhlenberg

Muhlenberg spoiled Franklin & Marshall's Senior Day on the scoreboard with a 13-7 victory inside Shadek Stadium. Christian Sullivan finished with a hat trick, while Will Mollihan, Kai Kelly, Tommy Garofalo, and Cullen Decker also found the back of the cage. Ethan Grossman led the Mules with three goals and three assists in a battle of the fourth and fifth place teams in the Centennial Conference standings.

The Mules jumped out to the early lead and never looked backed as they led 6-1 and were eventually up 10-3 at the half. Muhlenberg was up 5-0 just over 10 minutes into the contest before Cullen Decker scored F&M's first goal of the afternoon with 3:12 remaining in the opening period. Sullivan and Kelly both added second quarter goals for the hosts after the Mules scored the first three of that period. The Diplomats finished with a 44-38 advantage in shots and a 17-7 advantage in faceoffs. However, 13 saves from the Mules' goalies loomed large in the visiting victory. Adam Soper led the faceoff efforts with a 12-for-13 effort, with Matthew Freeman and Connor Helm also added wins throughout the day.

Last Time vs. Dickinson

Franklin & Marshall was locked in another battle with rival Dickinson when these teams met under the lights of Carlisle. The Diplomats used a dominant defense early to jump out to a 3-1 lead, but the No. 14 Red Devils went on a 10-1 run that spanned the second and third quarters during an eventual 14-8 final in favor of the hosts. Tommy Garofalo (four goals) and Christian Sullivan (three goals) each registered hat tricks during the rivalry game, with Liam Timmins also finding the back of the cage during the conference matchup. Dickinson countered that with a pair of four-goal scorers of their own in Will Farrell and Sam Campbell.

Franklin & Marshall scored four of the first five goals to start the fourth quarter, three of which came off the stick of Sullivan. That trimmed the host's lead down to 12-8, but was all the closer F&M could get in the 14-8 final. Garito finished the game with 10 saves before Eric Mueller came in during the final 15 minutes and made six more stops.

Muhlenberg Preview

The Mules went 11-5 (5-3 CC) during the regular season. They defeated top-seeded Dickinson at home to highlight that slate while the only loss below them was to Haverford who finished just game out of the playoffs. Muhlenberg had its bye during the final week of the regular season and enters the game riding a two-game winning streak. Wyatt Malia led the team with 45 points during the regular season and has a team-high 27 goals entering the postseason. Ethan Grossman had six points in the first game between these two schools and leads the team with 21 assists in addition to his 22 goals. Jack Kraemer (23g) and James Dalimonte (23g) were also 20-plus goal scorers throughout the regular season. Michael Drago (45.1%) and Griffin Minuto (48.4%) split time at the face-off X during the regular season. Matthew Regan is the team leader with 55 ground balls while Jonathan Taub leads the team with 28 caused turnovers. Max May saw the majority of the action in goal and stopped 52.5% of the shots he faced during the regular season while allowing 9.18 goals per game.

Dickinson Preview

The Red Devils earned the top seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament following a 7-1 record in Centennial Conference play as the team went 13-3 overall. Each of Dickinson's defeats have come by a single goal, with Muhlenberg being the only CC team to top the Red Devils during the regular season. F&M is coming off of its own overtime victory against the Mules during the first round of the Centennial Conference Tournament. Dickinson is averaging 14.27 goals per game with four different players who have at least 20 and 10 who have at least 10 goals. James Isaacson leads that group with 35 on the year. The Red Devils are strong at the X with a 61 percent face-off winning percentage. John McKenn (230-for-262; 63.5%) has handled most of those duties. In the cage, Chris Brandau is stopping 53.8 percent of the shots he face as the goalie of record during every regular season contest.

Centennial Conference Leaders from Franklin & Marshall (Top 10)

Points
6. Tommy Garofalo - 65
9. Christian Sullivan - 53

Goals
2. Tommy Garofalo - 50
5. Christian Sullivan - 44

Assists
4. Will Mollihan - 30

Caused Turnovers
4. Kyle Craig - 27

Face-Off Percentage
7. Matthew Freeman - 58.8%

Goals Against Average
5. Eric Mueller - 11.02
7. Sage Garito - 11.51

Save Percentage
3. Sage Garito - 55.4%
6. Eric Mueller - 52.5%

Wins
5. Sage Garito - 7