Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Beau Smith collected a game-high eight points and Bryan Nolan scored five goals to lead eighth-ranked Franklin & Marshall past No. 7 Gettysburg 15-12 in Centennial Conference (CC) men’s lacrosse action on Saturday.

 Smith found the net four times and dished out four assists, helping the Diplomats (10-2, 5-2 CC) earn a spot in next weekend’s CC playoffs and snap a 15-game losing streak to the Bullets (9-4, 5-2 CC). F&M’s last victory in the series was an 18-8 decision in the teams’ 1990 season finale.

 Diplomat face-off specialist Matt Capone also keyed the victory by winning 21 of 31 draws and collecting 18 ground balls on the day. Goalie Mike Sartorius made nine saves while withstanding 45 Gettysburg shots.

 The loss overshadowed a breakout day for the Bullets’ freshman attacking combo of Evan Gallant (Lutherville, MD/Loyola Blakefield) and Chase Stewart (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown). Gallant netted six goals – doubling his career high in the process – while Stewart dished out a career-best six assists on the day. Jake Van Nostrand (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) also chipped in with a goal and three assists.

 After an even first 15 minutes, Franklin & Marshall exploded for eight goals in the second quarter to take control of the game.

 Nolan opened the barrage with a curling unassisted goal just 40 seconds into the period, putting the Diplomats ahead to stay.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Gettysburg at 11:58 led to a non-releaseable extra-man opportunity for F&M, and the visitors took full advantage. Bas Solleveld ripped home a shot 22 seconds into the penalty for a two-goal edge and Nolan finished a feed from Smith 19 seconds later for another extra-man goal to make it 6-3.

   Singer scored in transition at the 9:20 mark and J.B. Robichau found the net after scooping up a loose ball at 7:32 for an 8-3 Diplomat lead, forcing a Bullet timeout.

 Gallant, John O’Bannon (Marshall, VA/Highland) and Kevin Smith (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) answered for Gettysburg in a span of 3 minutes, 14 seconds to pull the Bullets within 8-6 with 2:44 left in the half.

F&M, however, needed just over two minutes to restore the entire five-goal lead. Smith sandwiched a pair of markers around an unassisted tally by Steve Welsh to give the Diplomats an 11-6 lead at the break.

Behind a pair of goals from Gallant, Gettysburg used a 4-1 run across the third quarter to pull within two, cutting the lead to 12-10 on Tripp Neville’s (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) blast with 1:05 left in the third. Seconds later, Sartorius preserved the two-goal margin with big save on Sean McTernan (Cordlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson).

Smith dished out behind-the-net assists on goals by Nolan and Colin Hanley in a span of 56 seconds to give the Diplomats a 14-10 cushion with 11:45 remaining. Gallant scored his fifth and sixth goals of the game off feeds from Stewart to pull the Bullets within two, but Nolan scooped in a loose ball with 3:16 left and the F&M defense clamped down in the final minutes to preserve the victory.

Tim McGinnis (Ellicott City, MD/Loyola Blakefield) finished with 10 saves for Gettysburg. The Bullets converted 2 of 3 extra-man opportunities on the afternoon while the Diplomats went 3-for-7 with the man-advantage.

Gettysburg wraps up its regular season at McDaniel on Tuesday. Game time is 4 p.m. The Bullets have clinched a spot in the CC semifinals, which will be held in Chestertown, Md., on Friday. Gettysburg could still finish with the tournament’s No. 2 seed.
 

Score by Quarter	1	2	3	4	-	F
#8 Franklin & Marshall (10-2, 5-2 CC)	3	8	1	3	-	15
#7 Gettysburg (9-4, 5-2 CC)	3	3	4	2	-	12

Goals:

F&M: Bryan Nolan 5, Beau Smith 4, Bas Solleveld 2, Jon Singer, J.B. Robichau, Steve Welsh, Colin Hanley.

Gettysburg: Evan Gallant 6, Matt Twombly, Peter Politi, John O’Bannon, Jake Van Nostrand, Kevin Smtih, Tripp Neville.

Assists:

F&M: Smith 4, Singer 2, Welsh, Hanley.

Gettysburg: Chase Stewart 6, Van Nostrand 3, Gallant.
 
Shots: F&M 29, Gettysburg 45.

Ground Balls: F&M 39, Gettysburg 35.

Extra-Man: F&M 3 of 7, Gettysburg 2 of 3.

Faceoffs: F&M 21, Gettysburg 10.

Goalies: F&M (Mike Sartorius – 60:00, 9 saves, 12 GA), Gettysburg (Tim McGinnis – 60:00, 10 saves, 15 GA).

Clearing: F&M 14 of 21, Gettysburg 24 of 24.

Penalties: F&M 3 for 3:00, Gettysburg 7 for 6:00.

Attendance: 400.

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