Box Score ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Three second-half goals gave the No. 1 Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team a commanding 4-0 shutout of Muhlenberg on Tuesday evening in Allentown.
The win allowed the Diplomats to remain unbeaten at 14-0 overall and 6-0 in the Centennial Conference (CC), clinching a spot in the upcoming tournament for the seventh straight season, while the defending-champion Mules fell to 4-8-1, 1-5 CC.
F&M has now gone further into the season without a loss or a tie than any other team in program history, eclipsing the 2007 squad that opened at 13-0. Tuesday's shutout meanwhile, marked the fourth in a row, seventh in the Diplomats' previous eight games and their 11th overall on the year.
Connor Finn got the scoring underway in the 32nd minute of the first, lighting the scoreboard off a header from a well-placed Jeremy Levine freekick. F&M needed just three minutes after the halftime break to pull ahead 2-0, when Ugo Okolie took advantage of a miscue from Muhlenberg's goalkeeper and netted a long feed from Vince Perry for the sixth score of his freshman campaign.
In the 69th minute, Chase TenBrook continued to flash his offensive skills, when a long cross from Devon Malfitano found the senior forward's head before landing in the back of the net for the 3-0 advantage.
Following an 83rd minute foul by the Mules in the box, Zach Colton lined up for a freekick and connected for the 4-0 final score.
Goalkeeper Trevor Britton (14-0), fresh off of back-to-back CC Defensive Player of the Week honors, needed just one save to secure his ninth shutout of the season and fifth in his previous seven games. Muhlenberg's Jordan Schreer (3-8-1) suffered the loss after allowing two goals and recording five saves.
Shots heavily favored the Diplomats at 20-5, including a 12-3 margin in the second. Corners were also on F&M's side at 6-2. TenBrook led the offense with four shots, while five Diplomats notched a pair on the evening.
F&M can go a long way in reaching its next goal of hosting the CC Tournament for the second straight season, when the Diplomats travel to take on fellow conference-unbeaten Haverford (11-3, 6-0 CC) on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
