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GETTYSBURG, PA -- Franklin & Marshall's Bryan Nolan (Jr., Scottsdale, AZ/Western Reserve) scored with 59.6 left on the game clock off a feed from Vandy Vanderwarker (So., Keswick, VA/STAB) to pull the Diplomats within one goal, but #1 nationally ranked Gettysburg staved off the upset bid for a 7-6 win in the opening round of the Centennial Conference men's lacrosse playoffs. Trailing 7-5 following a goal by Beau Smith (Jr., Baltimore, MD/Gilman) at 56:54, Nolan beat Gettysburg goalie Tim McGinnis with a rising shot that the All-American goaltender to cut the lead to one. Following the face-off and a Gettysburg turnover, the Diplomats set up their offense for one last shot. Jon Singer (Jr., Reisterstown, MD/Boys Latin) fired a blast that McGinnis stopped and cleared as the Bullets ran out the clock to hold on for the win and a chance to claim their fifth Centennial Conference title. Gettysburg will host No. 5 Washington on Sunday for the conference championship and automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Game time is 1 p.m. The Bullets downed the Shoremen 15-7 in last year's title tilt, also played at Musselman Stadium. Washington advanced to Sunday's final with a 12-8 victory over Western Maryland, avenging last Saturday's 15-14 double-overtime loss to the Green Terror. The F&M-Gettysburg game was a battle of halves as the Bullets dominated the first half, while F&M controlled the tempo of the second 30-minutes. The Bullets jumped on the board first at 10:03 as Wes Cadman took a pass from Jake Van Nostrand and fired a shot into the net for a 1-0 lead through one period of play. In the second, Gettysburg built their lead to two goals at 18:06 as national pre-season Player of the Year Pete Miliman sliced a Ric Bremer pass through the F&M defense off a left side blast from just outside the crease. The Diplomats responded at 14:15, when Vanderwarker converted a curl around the net from the left side to put the Diplomats on the board. The score was the first by a Diplomats' player in nearly 47 minutes of play dating back to a goal in the opening moments of the second half versus Gettysburg last weekend in the Centennial Conference regular season finale. The Bullets fired back exactly five minutes later when Rich Sharp converted a fast break from the right side of the cage for a 3-1 lead. F&M goalie Mike Sartorius (Fr., Summit, NJ/Summit) kept the lead at two with nine seconds remaining in the second period by stopping a point blank shot by Milliman to keep his team in the game. The save was one of 22 Sartorius made on the day, as he improved his season numbers to 200 saves and 122 goals allowed in 15 games played with a 62.1 save percentage. In the second half, Gettysburg opened the scoring at 30:59 as Sharp backhanded a low scoop shot that found its way into the net to push the lead to 4-1. At 31:53, Cadman and Milliman would receive one-minute game misconduct penalties to give the Diplomats a two-man advantage. As the penalty expired to bring the teams back to even-strength, Bas Solleveld (So., Glenmoore, PA/Shipley) faked a low shot and released a high attempt off a Nolan assist to pull F&M within two. Following an unassisted score by Vinny Merlino off a fast break, Steve Welsh (Fr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) nearly tied the game with three consecutive shots over the period of two minutes leading to a save by McGinnis and a pair of goals. With 4:44 left on the clock in the third period, Welsh bounced in an assist from Andrew Kuskowski (Sr., Huntington, NY/Huntington). Exactly two minutes later, Singer dished a pass to Welsh who finished the run with a catch-and-shoot score to cut the Bullets lead to one. Bremer responded with a his team's third fast break goal of the day, as Van Nostrand and Bremer passed the ball back and forth before the senior attackman dumped a shot in the upper 90 of the left side of the cage for a two goal lead with 39 seconds left in the period. The two teams would battle to a stalemate for the next eight and a half minutes before Milliman lifted a shot into the upper right corner off an assist from Bremer for his team's seventh goal and the eventual game winner.
Similar to the 2001 Centennial Conference playoffs in which the Diplomats staged a late comeback to fall 9-7 to the Bullets, Franklin & Marshall ignited for one last charge as Smith and Nolan scored to pull F&M within a score. The game marked F&M's closest contest with the Bullets since a 13-12 loss in 1996. Historically, in their last five meetings prior to the 2002 season, Gettysburg had outscored F&M 66-29, an average margin of victory of 7.4 goals per game. Last Saturday, the Diplomats fell to Gettysburg 14-5 in Lancaster as the Bullets clinched the #1 seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs. Overall, F&M has not defeated Gettysburg in men's lacrosse since an 18-8 season ending defeat in 1990. Franklin & Marshall (8-7, 3-3 Centennial Conference) will now await a decision from the Eastern College Athletic Conference regarding the team's bid for a berth in the ECAC South Region Men's Lacrosse Championship game. With declarations closed as of the morning of April 26, the Diplomats are in contention with Widener, Cabrini, Wesley and Neumann for one of two bids to the title game. Historically, the Diplomats are 6-3 all-time against Widener (0-3), Cabrini (4-0) and Wesley (2-0) having never faced Neumann in men's lacrosse. In their only game against the four this year, the Diplomats routed Cabrini 14-3 on February 27 behind five goals from Chris Wathey (So., South Huntington, NY/St. Anthonys). The announcement of the 2002 championship field is expected prior to 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 29. SCORE BY PERIODS
Franklin & Marshall (8-7) 0-1-3-2 6
Gettysburg (13-1) 1-2-3-1 7
Goals:
F&M - Steve Welsh 2, Vandy Vanderwarker 1, Bas Solleveld 1, Beau Smith 1, Bryan Nolan 1
Gettysburg - Pete Milliman 2, Rich Sharp 2, Wes Cadman 1, Ric Bremer 1, Vinny Merlino 1 Assists
F&M - Vandy Vanderwarker 1, Bryan Nolan 1, Andrew Kuskowski 1, Jon Singer 1
Gettysburg - Jake Van Nostrand 3, Ric Bremer 2
Goalie (Saves/Goals Allowed)
F&M - Mike Sartorius (22/7)
Gettysburg - Tim McGinnis (16/6) Shots - F&M 35, Gettysburg 37
Ground Balls - F&M 33, Gettysburg 43
Face-Offs - F&M 8 of 17, Gettysburg 9 of 17
Penalties - F&M 4 for 3:30, Gettysburg 3 for 3:00
Extra man - F&M 1 for 3, Gettysburg 0 for 4
Attendance - 487
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