FRANKLIN — The Clinton-Massie lacrosse team opened its scrimmage season Friday with an 8-7 defeat against Franklin.

The match was played in a persistent rain. The mix of varsity and junior varsity players took the field for both teams appeared to be evenly matched in size, speed and skill, according to Clinton-Massie’s game report.

It’s been two years since the Falcons faced the Wildcats, ranked 10th in the Dayton region last year. At that time the Falcons were still a club team until head coach Dave Voisey established lacrosse as an official school sport at Clinton-Massie in 2023.

Despite a 3-1 deficit at the half, the Falcons quickly evened the score at 4-4 in the third quarter which created an exciting second half as the scoreboard bounced back and forth until the Wildcats scored the game-winner in the final seconds of the match.

The Falcons have added a new assistant coach this year, Bob Olds, who has an extensive background in coaching and playing lacrosse, including playing for Army at West Point. Coach Olds is focusing on teaching and defense, while coach Voisey is helping to assimilate many new players to the team and drive his playbook to help position the Falcons against some of the best teams in Cincinnati and Dayton this season.