Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's No. 12 men's soccer team emerged from a scrappy, physical contest with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Randolph on Saturday evening at Tylus Field. The Diplomats improved to 5-0 on the season, while the Wildcats fell to 2-3.
Chase TenBrook continued to provide a scoring punch for F&M's attack, tallying his team-leading third goal of the season in the 26th minute to get the Diplomats on the board at 1-0. A long Janse Schermerhorn cross from the right side led to a header from TenBrook in the box, as the senior forward aimed the ball into the top-left corner of the net.
F&M had a chance to tack on with just under a minute remaining in the opening stanza. A Randolph foul led to an always-dangerous Conor Pellas freekick from 25 yards out on the left side of the field. Pellas sent a low shot that made its way through the Wildcats' wall but was deflected just enough to go wide left of the net.
Jason Tonelli added to the score in the opening minutes of the second, taking another long Schermerhorn cross from the left side and sending in a short volley of his right foot and into the right of the goal for the 2-0 lead.
Following several Randolph cards and physical play from both sides in the second half, F&M settled in when sophomore defender Wyatt Fabian notched his first goal as a Diplomat. Zach Colton lined up for a freekick just past midfield and found Fabian in the box. With his back nearly turned away from the goalie, Fabian managed to send in a header that found its way into the back of the net for the decisive 3-0 lead.
In the 84th minute, Randolph's Blake Heatherly brought an end to the Diplomats' impressive season-shutout streak with a well-placed freekick goal from 35 yards out. Entering the contest, F&M hadn't allowed a goal in the opening four games of the season, marking the third straight year it had accomplished that feat.
Trevor Britton (5-0) got the win in net, but did not face a shot through his 75 minutes of action, before being relieved by Josh Gotlib in the second half. Matt Tourbin (1-1) suffered the loss for Randolph, picking up eight saves through 90 minutes.
The Diplomats dominated in shots at 19-3 and corners at 6-2. TenBrook paced the team with five shots, while Tonelli and Matthew Regueiro each tallied two.
F&M returns to the pitch on Wednesday, hosting Elizabethtown in the Smith-Herr Boot Game at 7:00 p.m.
