Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's Kevin Mollihan scored with 9.6 seconds left in overtime as the top-seeded and 12th-ranked Diplomats handed the second-seeded and 19th-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team a 9-8 overtime loss in the Centennial Conference (CC) final on Saturday at Tylus Field.
 
The Bullets (11-6) will now hope for an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament while F&M (15-2) receives the conference's automatic bid. The tournament field will be announced on Sunday at 9 p.m. on ncaa.com.
 
Mollihan scored six goals and was named the tournament MVP. Senior Sean Fumai (Weston, Conn./Weston) scored three goals to lead the Bullets while freshman Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) posted one goal, four assists, and five ground balls. Junior Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) made 10 saves and picked up four ground balls for Gettysburg while Scott Hatch stopped 14 shots for the Diplomats.
 
It was just the third Centennial Conference men's lacrosse playoff game and the first final to be decided in overtime.  
 
Making its conference-leading 14th appearance in the CC final, Gettysburg trailed by two goals on four occasions, and F&M held a 7-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter. But that's when the Bullets rallied with a 3-0 run to seize its first lead of the game. Sophomore Tommy Heller (Livington, N.J./Livingston) cashed in on a man-up opportunity just 14 seconds into the period before senior Reed Barbe (Greenwich, Conn./Suffield Academy) struck with 12:14 left to pull the Bullets even. Fumai then buried a man-up goal with 9:42 showing as the Bullets assumed an 8-7 lead, but it would prove to be their final goal of the afternoon.
 
Tucker McBride tied it for F&M with 4:25 remaining, setting up a thrilling finish in which the two sides would combine for five potential game-winning shots in regulation. Junior Geoff Fulgione (North Andover, Mass./Brooks School) won the ensuing face-off, and the Bullets called a timeout before firing off three shots, the last of which was saved by Hatch.
 
Brady recovered a blocked shot in front of the cage for the Bullets, and Gettysburg called its final timeout with 2:26 left. Hatch came up with another save with 1:48 showing on a wraparound by Heller, and the Diplomats held possession for the remainder of regulation. However, the Bullet defense stood tall once again, and Brady forced the extra session with a clutch save in the closing seconds.
 
After winning the opening face-off, Franklin & Marshall also possessed the ball for the entire overtime period, when it held a 6-0 advantage in ground balls. The Bullets allowed only three shots, however, and Brady made his final save with 57 seconds left. But with the clock winding down, Mollihan curled around the right post and flipped in a diving shot high into the net to give the Diplomats their first-ever Centennial Conference men's lacrosse title.
 
The two sides nearly played a scoreless opening quarter before Mollihan tallied a man-up goal with 36 seconds left. However, the two offenses would get untracked in the second quarter, when they combined for seven goals. McBride scored for F&M to make it a 2-0 game 53 seconds into the quarter, but sophomore Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) put the Bullets on the scoreboard with 11:26 showing.
 
Mollihan made it a 3-1 game before sophomore Blake Gray (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) scored with 6:36 left to pull Gettysburg to within a goal once again. Mike Rama answered 35 seconds later for the Diplomats, but the Bullets converted twice before the end of the period to pull even at the intermission. Kolen scored with 3:25 on the clock before Fumai forged a 4-4 tie with his tally at the 1:56 mark.
 
Franklin & Marshall reclaimed its two-goal lead when Mollihan scored twice over the opening 10 minutes of the third quarter. However, Fumai had the answer for the Bullets, scoring his second goal at the 4:24 mark to make it 6-5. But Mollihan struck for his fifth goal exactly one minute later in a man-up situation, giving F&M its two-goal lead heading into the final stanza.
 
Gettysburg outshot F&M 44-34 for the game, but the Diplomats finished with a 34-28 advantage in ground balls. The two sides split their 20 face-offs, with Fulgione making all of Gettysburg's trips to the X.