The Muhlenberg men's lacrosse team let a big lead slip away and fell to 12th-ranked Franklin & Marshall, 10-9.

The Mules (7-3, 3-1), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped, played tremendously in the first three quarters, especially on defense. Muhlenberg entered the fourth quarter with an 8-2 lead, but the Diplomats roared back with eight goals in the final period, scoring the winner with 1:48 left.

Junior Dominick Visintin led the offense with three goals on only four shots for his second career hat trick. Senior Matt Marella and graduate student Ethan Grossman netted a pair of goals apiece.

The Diplomats (10-2, 3-1) won the opening faceoff and scored the first goal 2:32 into the game. F&M took a couple more shots on its second possession before going into a long dry spell.

The Mule defense held the Diplomats to one shot from 9:29 in the first quarter to 7:29 in the second quarter. F&M committed 10 turnovers in that span, three of them caused by junior Connor Riebling. On the scoreboard, the Diplomats were stuck at one goal for a stretch of more than 33 minutes.

Back-to-back goals by Grossman, less than a minute apart, gave Muhlenberg a 2-1 lead. Two apiece by Visintin and Marrella (pictured above) and one by junior James Dalimonte extended the lead to 7-1 early in the second half.

Junior Jack Kraemer picked up a loose ball near midfield and went straight to goal to make it 8-2 with 6:07 left in the third quarter. 

F&M scored the first four goals of the fourth quarter. Visintin gave the Mules some breathing room with his third goal of the game at the 5:07 mark, but the Diplomats netted four in a row again.

Muhlenberg took two shots with a chance to tie in the final 65 seconds, but both were saved. 

Junior Max May made 15 saves, tying his career high for a Centennial Conference game. Senior Maxwell Seeber forced three turnovers and picked up three ground balls.