Release courtesy of Franklin & Marshall Athletic Communications
LANCASTER, Pa - No. 7 Franklin & Marshall came up just short against No. 6 York (Pa.) on Sunday afternoon, as the Spartans scored five of the final six goals after a 40-minute weather delay to pull away 13-9 in NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Second Round action. With the loss, F&M dropped to 8-1, while York improved to 16-1 and advanced to play Tufts in the quarterfinal round next weekend in Rochester, N.Y.
A single lightning strike in the area was enough to halt a Diplomat rally late in the third quarter, a stretch that saw F&M pull level against York with 3:35 remaining. But the Spartans regrouped just a minute after the restart and never looked back in the four-goal victory.
F&M fell behind 2-0 within the first two minutes of the game, but an A.J. Rigsby laser cut the lead in half with 8:56 left in the first. York tallied one more for a 3-1 edge at the first break.
Rigsby once again put the team on his back in the second quarter, first being responsible for an assist on a Blake Target goal with 8:34 left, then tallying two late goals at the 1:31 and 0:11 marks that saw F&M down only 5-4 at halftime.
The teams went on a bit of a see-saw after the break, as Christian Sullivan and Will Mollihan both scored off of Luke Keating helpers for the Diplomats' first lead of the game at 6-5 with 12:08 left in the quarter. York then rattled off three straight to retake the lead at 8-6.
A unreleasable Spartan penalty breathed life into the F&M attack, as Blake Target and Christian Sullivan ripped in back-to-back up goals within 31 seconds of each other for a 8-8 stalemate.
Then came the lightning. Then came a 40 minute break. Then came the rain. And with that rain came a revitalized Spartan attack. A goal with 2:26 left in the third gave them the lead, then three more at the start of the fourth gave York a commanding 12-8 edge with 6:58 to play.
Blake Target found twine off a Will Mollihan dime to cut the disadvantage to 12-9, but the Spartans had an answer soon after for the 13-9 final.
A.J. Rigsby and Blake Target both scored hat-tricks for the Diplomats, while Christian Sullivan chipped in two of his own. Jack Beatty, Colin Falk, and Noah Isaacson led the way with four ground balls each. Eric Mueller took his first loss of the year, making nine saves on the day.
York held a slight edge in faceoffs (15-11), shots (35-34), and ground balls (32-25).