GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Despite coming in as the highest-scoring team in the Centennial Conference, ninth-ranked Franklin & Marshall College (8-2, 1-1 CC) found its high-flying attack grounded by the league's top defense as No. 13 Gettysburg College (7-3, 2-0 CC) knocked off the defending conference champs 10-6 at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
 
F&M, which came into the game averaging over 15 goals per game, poured in the game's first two goals as A.J. Rigsby went to cage unassisted for the first and tallied the second on a feed by Will DeMuth at 10:19. Senior Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) stopped Connor Helm from making it a three-goal deficit on the next possession and the Bullets turned the defensive stop into offense as senior Griffin Gallagher (Ardmore, Pa./Shipley School) scored the host's first goal following a feed by sophomore Quinton Mather (Avon, Conn./Avon Old Farms) at 8:30 in the first period.
 
Diplomat goalie Sage Garito kept Gettysburg out of the scoring column with three consecutive saves in the first quarter, but the keeper made a costly mistake in front of his own cage that led to a game-tying goal. Junior George Raymond (Darien, Conn./Suffield Academy) intercepted Garito's pass in front of the crease and quickly flipped it back into the cage for a 2-2 tie at 4:10.
 
Rigsby struck again 36 seconds later to give F&M a 3-2 advantage at the end of the quarter.
 
The second period was all Orange and Blue as the hosts ran off five consecutive goals. Junior Aidan Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), senior Kieran Ward (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep), and senior Spencer Knife (Venice, Calif./Winston Churchill) tossed in the first three goals before Mather went to work. The sophomore attackman tallied his first score on a feed from Knife at 4:36, while his second redefined the term "turn and burn" as he spun away from a defender and fired a rocket into the net from 13 yards away for a 7-3 lead.
 
F&M dialed up the offensive pressure and doubled Gettysburg in shots 12-6 in the third period. MacMillan made a trio of saves early in the second half, including one on a shot by Blake Target with the Bullets playing a man down. The Diplomats eventually broke through, however, with Pierce Archer and Target connecting just over a minute apart to cut the deficit to 7-5.
 
A turnover on the Diplomats led to Raymond taking care of business all by himself on the other end as the junior cranked a long shot past Garito to bump the lead back to three (8-5). James Moroney answered following a scramble in front of the net to slim the margin back to two. Franklin & Marshall managed to survive back-to-back penalties 20 seconds apart, including one on Garito as back-up goalie George Rioseco made a stop to keep the Bullets off the board.
 
Gettysburg grounded the Diplomats completely in the final period, allowing just six shots. F&M did not win a face-off and managed just two ground balls as the hosts controlled possession for the majority of the fourth quarter. Ward produced the game's final two goals with Knife dishing out the assist on both occasions, including the final tally at 7:33.
 
Garito did his part with four-straight saves late in the game, but MacMillan answered with a pair of stops on F&M's final two shots.
 
Gettysburg came into the game leading the CC in goals against average at 8.44. The Bullets have held six opponents to six goals or less this season. The hosts led in shots (43-37), ground balls (30-26), and face-off wins (12-8). Both teams committed 19 turnovers.
 
Ward led the Bullets with three goals, while Raymond and Mather each finished with two goals and one assist. Knife tallied a goal and three assists. Raymond also posted four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Junior Jonathan Moshe (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Earl L. Vandermeulen) won 12-of-20 face-offs and corralled seven ground balls. MacMillan racked up 13 saves.
 
Rigsby tallied three goals and Kyle Craig recorded four ground balls for F&M. Garito finished with 16 saves.
 
Gettysburg hits the road to face Washington College on Saturday, April 2, at 4 p.m.