COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - No. 7 Franklin & Marshall remained unbeaten with a 2-1 triumph over Ursinus on Saturday in a key early-season Centennial Conference (CC) field hockey matchup. The Diplomats (6-0, 2-0 CC) have now won three straight against the Bears (3-2, 2-1 CC).

F&M jumped on top just over 10 minutes into the contest on a penalty stroke opportunity. Mallory Gibson made the most of the penalty shot for the Diplomats, finding the back of the cage for her first career score to give F&M a 1-0 edge.

Just before halftime, Katie Cecere notched her third goal of the year, unassisted, to push the Diplomats out to a 2-0 advantage heading into the intermission.

The Bears cut the deficit in half in the 50th minute as Megan Keenan buried a chance in front of goal following Avery Koep's save on a shot from Jenna Stover, putting Ursinus within striking distance down the stretch.

Ursinus held the edge in shots (22-7) and penalty corners (12-6), but the Diplomat defense clamped down and held off a flurry of shots throughout the final 20 minutes of play.

Koep tallied a season-high eight saves in the victory, while Bears goalkeeper Danielle DeSpirito managed one save in the loss.

F&M returns home on Thursday to take on Bryn Mawr in CC action at 4:30 p.m.