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Falcons Get First Win Of Season Against Franklin & Marshall
Senior Ted Oberg was brilliant in goal Saturday, charting 18 saves in the Falcons' first win of the year.

Lancaster, PA — It may not have been as quick as the word “presto,” but some changes within the Messiah College men’s lacrosse program helped the squad to its first win of the season Saturday, as the Falcons handed Franklin & Marshall College a 12-8 defeat on a neutral playing surface in Baltimore, Maryland.

After losing the first three games of the season, Messiah head coach Geof Weisenborn said he had to do something.

And while not going into great detail with the media following Saturday’s contest, it was clear that whatever Weisenborn and staff concocted, worked.

“We made some changes,” Weisenborn said without prevarication. “We made some personnel changes, made some changes to some X and O details, and it worked out. We’re just happy to get our first win. Franklin & Marshall is a very well-coached team that was playing very well coming into today. Hopefully we can build off of this win and start playing better as a result.”

Messiah (1-3) benefited from scoring first Saturday, marking the first time this season the Falcons captured the first lead in any contest. After F&M won the game’s first faceoff, senior goalie Ted Oberg came up with the first of 18 saves in goal, thwarting a shot by the Diplomats’ Sean Oliver.
 
Weisenborn’s team then transitioned into the first of 19 successful clears in 22 attempts for the day, resulting in a goal from sophomore Brent Stewart at the 13:22 mark of the first period, his first score of the year.

It was an opening that helped the Falcons mentally, according to Weisenborn.

“I think that was a big key for us at this point in the season, to score first,” he said. “In a game like men’s lacrosse, there are so many runs. To be able to get on the board and take an early lead kind of settled us collectively.”

The 1-0 score would hold throughout the remainder of the first period, as Oberg would come up with four more saves during that stretch. Messiah tacked on its second goal at nearly the exact time as the first — this one came with 13:26 to play in the second quarter — as senior Nick Ricucci scored off an assist by junior Jeff Ziegler.

The Diplomats responded to pull within a 2-1 score just three minutes later, but another tally from Ricucci at the 9:46 mark made it a 3-1 contest.

Such would be the trend for the remainder of the game, as Messiah would have an answer for every Franklin & Marshall push. The Falcons never surrendered the lead at any point, as a score from sophomore John Murdock with 4:05 in the half negated another tally from the Diplomats just three and a half minutes earlier.

Franklin & Marshall pulled to within a single score again with 2:38 to play, but a blast from senior Bryce Geiman made it a 6-3 Messiah lead at the intermission.

Following more words of instruction from Weisenborn at halftime, Messiah played perhaps its best lacrosse, scoring the first four goals of the second half to blow open a 10-3 advantage. Senior Ian Lee got things going just 29 seconds into the half in a man-up situation, while scores from Murdock, senior Tim Sandusky and Geiman would follow in the next six minutes.

And while F&M would put together its own run of scores — the Diplomats notched four in a row during the last six minutes of the third — Messiah would again respond. Leading by just a 10-7 count at the start of the fourth, Murdock would take a Brent Stewart (sophomore) pass to drill one into the cage just nine seconds in, thwarting the Diplomats' momentum.

An insurance goal from Ricucci with just under five minutes to play provided the final outcome.

Ricucci and Murdock led the team offensively with three scores apiece. Ziegler tallied a team-high two assists. Oberg finished with 18 saves, charting six of those in the final quarter or work. 

The loss was Franklin & Marshall’s first of the season.

“We played well today on both ends of the field,” Weisenborn said. “Teddy played really well in the cage, and I think that helped our defense build some confidence early.”

Messiah will now take a week to return to the practice field before hosting its second home game of the year on Saturday, when the team will welcome St. Mary’s College of Maryland to Anderson Field. Game time is set for 1 p.m.