LANCASTER, Pa. - No. 5 Franklin & Marshall dropped its Centennial Conference (CC) opener to visiting Swarthmore 2-1 on Saturday in men's soccer action at Tylus Field. The Diplomats (5-1, 0-1 CC) fall for the first time in 2012 with the defeat, while the Garnet (5-0, 1-0 CC) remain unbeaten with the victory.

While neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half, both sides put together high-quality looks at goal in the opening frame. Swarthmore's Noah Sterngold delivered a pair of strikes towards net in the eighth minute of play, but goalkeeper T.J. White and the Diplomat defense held strong to keep the contest scoreless in the early going.

In the 28th minute, Chris Scott nearly put the Diplomats on top with the first of two-straight near misses off F&M corner kicks. Sam Lane curved an out-swinging corner to the head of Scott, whose header caromed off the crossbar.

Less than 30 seconds later, Lane sent another well-placed corner into the middle of the 18-yard box, this time to the head of Mike Irving, who flicked a header towards the far post that bounced once and hit off the post as the Garnet once again escaped a dangerous F&M opportunity.

Lane delivered the game's opening score just after halftime in the 49th minute to give the Diplomats a 1-0 edge. Ryan O'Connell sent a cross from the right endline into the box, and Lane put a diving header into the near-post netting for his third goal of the year.

Swarthmore fought back, however, as the visiting Garnet evened things up less than five minutes later. Michael Stewart collected a loose ball near the top of the box off a corner kick by Brett McLarney, and had his shot deflect off a defender and nestle into the upper-right corner of the goal.

Just four minutes after Stewart's game-tying score, Lane nearly put F&M on top again. The sophomore ran onto a deflected ball that bounced back towards the Swarthmore goal and blasted a low liner towards the far post, but the Diplomats were once again denied by a post as the ball bounced off the pipe and landed right into the hands of Garnet goalkeeper Peter Maxted.

In the 64th minute, Wyatt McCall tallied the game-winning score for the Garnet. McCall dribbled down the left side of the field into the box, and buried a low strike into the far post to give Swarthmore the 2-1 lead.

White totaled four saves in the loss, while Maxted notched one save to earn the win.

F&M is back in action on Wednesday Stevenson in non-conference action. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

 Swarthmore (5-0, 1-0 CC) vs. #5 F&M (5-1, 0-1 CC)

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 Swarthmore..........  0  2 -  2
 F&M.................  0  1 -  1
 
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  48:18 F&M Sam Lane (3) (Ryan O'Connell) - diving header off cross from right endline
  2.  52:48 SWATMS Michael Stewart (4) (unassisted) - deflected shot from middle of box to upper right corner
  3.  63:29 SWATMS Wyatt McCall (1) (unassisted) - dribbled down left into box shot to far post on ground

 Shots: Swarthmore 15, F&M 13
 Saves: Swarthmore 1 (Peter Maxted 1), F&M 4 (TJ White 4)