SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Chelsey Talhelm scored less than five minutes into the contest and Becky Willert notched two goals as the 18th-ranked Franklin & Marshall field hockey team blanked host Swarthmore, 3-0, in the Centennial Conference opener for both squads. The Diplomats (5-0, 1-0 CC) have now won four-straight meetings against Swarthmore and remain perfect on the year, while the Garnet (1-3, 0-1 CC) fall for the third game in a row.

The Diplomats continue to have a knack for jumping on top of their opponents early as Talhelm put F&M up 1-0 in just the 5th minute of play. Talhelm finished off a feed from Steph McDonald for her third goal of 2011. This marks the fourth time this year that the Diplomats have scored in the opening five minutes of a contest. 

In the 15th minute, Talhelm was on the other end of an F&M tally as she assisted on Willert's first score of the afternoon to push the Diplomat advantage to 2-0.

F&M maintained its two-goal edge until the second stanza, when Willert connected in the 46th minute off a dish from Allison McLaren. Willert, the team's leading goal-scorer in 2010, has now registered at least two goals in four of the Diplomats first five games, raising her season goal total to a team-high nine. The senior forward needs just two more scores to match her goal-scoring output from a season ago.

Goalkeeper Avery Koep (5-0) was largely unchallenged on the day as the Garnet were only able to muster four shots to the Diplomats 20. Koep recorded one save in the win, while Swarthmore's Gabriella Capone (1-3) totaled six stops in a losing effort.

The Diplomats return home on Tuesday, Sept. 20 for their CC home opener against McDaniel at 7:00 pm.

 #18 Franklin & Marshall (5-0) vs. Swarthmore (1-3)

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 Franklin & Marshall.  2  1 -  3
 Swarthmore..........  0  0 -  0
 
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.   4:48 F&M Chelsey Talhelm (Steph McDonald)
  2.  14:20 F&M Becky Willert (Chelsey Talhelm)
  3.  45:58 F&M Becky Willert (Allison McLaren)

 Shots: Franklin & Marshall 20, Swarthmore 4
 Saves: Franklin & Marshall 1 (Avery Koep 1), Swarthmore 7 (Gabriella Capone 6; TEAM 1)