COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The No. 15 Ursinus College men's lacrosse team saw its normally prolific attack thwarted by a stout defensive effort from visiting Franklin & Marshall, which locked down in the second half to snag a 12-8 victory in a tussle of nationally ranked powers.
Ursinus (2-2) led 6-4 midway through the second quarter, but went scoreless for more than 25 minutes from there to allow the 13th-ranked Diplomats to gain enough separation to remain unbeaten and atop the Centennial Conference standings.
The Diplomats (5-0, 3-0) wasted no time staking an early claim, opening the scoring just 23 seconds in and adding a second just past the 10-minute mark.
Ursinus steadied itself after the early salvo and pulled even in the blink of an eye, potting two goals in 14 seconds as Tyler Neal dodged and scored at the post before Jake Ojert came away with the ball after a faceoff scrum, utilized a swim move, and dashed down to fire home a stumbling shot.
The teams got on the see-saw after that, with the Diplomats going back on top briefly only for the Bears to surge ahead by a pair with a three-goal run. Neal scored on a feed from Erik Ojert, and Hakan Atillasoy went around a defender to cash in a lefty shot for a 4-3 lead with 19.9 seconds on the first-quarter clock.
It was 5-3 in favor of the home side following a sensational tally by Sam Mutz, who went low to pick up a pass from Atillasoy and sent a diving effort into the back of the cage. A bouncing shot by Joe Mercurio served as a retort to an F&M marker to restore a two-goal cushion, but the Diplomats scored the final two goals of the half to make it 6-all at intermission.
F&M carried its momentum over into the second half, taking the lead for good on Luke Keating's tally just 11 seconds into the third quarter. An extra-man goal by Will Mollihan at the 6:06 mark jump-started a sequence of three in a span of less than two minutes, and the blue and white entered the fourth quarter riding a four-goal advantage.
Down 10-6 and a pair of defenders to begin the period, the Bears staved off a would-be-knockout punch and made things interesting. Atillasoy scored on a high heater with 13:50 to play, and Mercurio put some pressure on F&M with a one-on-one finish that made it a two-goal game with 7:47 left.
Though the Bears had their chances, that was the last goal they scored. Keating fed Blake Target for an insurance marker with 5:21 to go, and the Diplomats tacked on an empty-netter at 1:43.
Keating led all players with three goals and four assists, while Target provided three goals. Eric Mueller, the reigning CC defensive player of the week, was stellar in the cage with 15 saves, including at least four in each of the final three quarters.
Atillasoy, Mercurio, and Neal all had two goals for the Bears, while Chase Rondeau anchored the defensive effort with five ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
Chris Porzelt recorded 11 saves, including a highlight-reel stop with a backwards leap in the second quarter.
F&M held slim advantages in most categories of an evenly matched affair: 37-33 in shots, 12-9 in faceoffs, and 31-28 in ground balls.
The Bears look to rebound with a Wednesday trip to Muhlenberg.