COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The No. 5 Franklin & Marshall field hockey team advanced to its fourth consecutive Centennial Conference (CC) Final with a nail-biting 1-0 win over Muhlenberg on Saturday afternoon in Collegeville.

The Diplomats improved to 17-1 with the win, while the Mules fell to 12-5.

F&M will take on the tournament's No. 1 seed in Ursinus on the road tomorrow, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Both teams will square off in the championship for the second straight year, after the No. 6 Bears made quick work of Johns Hopkins in today's other semifinal with a 7-0 shutout. 

Lauren Eastman needed just 14 minutes to get the Diplomats on the board in the opening half, deflecting a cross from Clare Wirth into the back of the cage for the early advantage. 

F&M led in shots at 5-1 in the first frame, but was unable to pad its one-goal advantage. The Diplomats continued to put pressure on Muhlenberg's defense in the second half, leading on shots by a 9-3 margin. The defense for F&M came up huge in the second, not allowing a shot to reach goalkeeper Allie Morey (17-1), who earned her sixth shutout of the season. 

Maria Guarisco led the offensive attack with seven shots, as the Diplomats combined for 14 through 70 minutes of action. F&M dominated on penalty corners by an 11-2 mark, with eight coming in the second half of play. Sierra Lenker was charged with the loss for the Mules despite a three-save effort on the game. 

The Diplomats meet with Ursinus tomorrow for a rematch of last season's CC Championship contest, which saw the Bears come away with a 2-0 win in Lancaster. The conference rivals will face off in the finals for the third time in the previous four seasons. Earlier in the year, Ursinus got the upper hand with a 5-2 win on Sept. 27.