PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Ohio Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team went across state lines on Friday afternoon to face Franklin & Marshall – a team receiving votes in the latest Division III polls. The neutral-site game took place at Shady Side Academy and ended with the Battling Bishops on the wrong side of a 14-7 result.

OWU drops to 1-2 on the year. Franklin & Marshall moves to 3-1.

The Bishops struggled to get going in the first quarter, falling behind 3-0 before finally getting on the board with just five seconds left in the period. Henry Ross was responsible for the goal – his sixth of the season – to keep Ohio Wesleyan within two at the first break, 3-1.

Ross scored another to start the second quarter, making it a one-goal game at 3-2. Unfortunately, that would be the last score of the half for the Red and Black as F&M went on a 6-0 run in the remaining 13 minutes to make it 9-2 at the halfway point.

The Diplomats tacked on another at the beginning of the third, leaving OWU facing an eight-goal deficit with about 26 minutes to play. The Battling Bishops were able to put up two in the third and three in the fourth. However, that was matched by five second-half scores from the other side, making the final result at 14-7 in favor of Franklin & Marshall. Ross was responsible for both Bishop goals in the third quarter. Blake Altman managed two of the three in the fourth, with Wade Beckstrom scoring the other.

THE NUMBERS
The Red and Black carried a 40-31 advantage in overall shots, and a 20-18 advantage in shots on goal.

OWU was 10-of-11 on clears, picking up 33 ground balls and causing nine turnovers.

Henry Ross scored four of OWU's seven goals and added an assist for a total of five points. He also caused a career-high four turnovers and picked up five ground balls.

Blake Altman ended his day with two goals, two ground balls, and one caused turnover.

Wade Beckstrom scored once and assisted once to finish with two points.

Noah Citek went 12-for-16 on the faceoff and grabbed 10 ground balls.

Trey Weber (1 CT, 2 GB), Garrett Smith (1 CT), Christian Caballero (1 CT), and Jayden Franzen (1 CT) led the defensive stats for Ohio Wesleyan.

Jason Mosher (0-1) made his first career start and played the first 30 minutes. He made three saves in the loss. Kal Lonergan played the second half and made one save.

UP NEXT
The Bishops return home to play RV Roanoke next Saturday, March 7th. First faceoff will take place from Selby Stadium at 1 p.m.