Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – Swarthmore used a pair of first-half goals followed by a late scoring flurry to defeat Franklin and Marshall Saturday afternoon at Tylus Field in each squad's Centennial Conference (CC) opener. The loss took the Diplomats to 2-4-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while Swarthmore moved to 6-0 overall, 1-0 in the conference.
The first half belonged to the Garnet, logging nine shots and three corner kicks in the period. Swarthmore took advantage 13 minutes in when Hannah Lichtenstein scored on a header following Melissa Trofa's delivery from a corner kick.
Lichtenstein doubled the Garnet lead when 10 minutes later she found her way through the F&M defense and around goalkeeper Nicole Savidge, slotting her ninth goal of the season into the empty net.
The second half saw a refreshed Diplomat side create multiple scoring chances early in the period. The F&M pressure began to tell in the 54th minute when a clever combination play between Kyra Judge and Alexis Hucek produced a cross into the box, from which Kate Kerr earned a corner for the Diplomats.
The offense continued for F&M in the 56th minute when Jennifer Lurty's inswinging corner was nodded on by Hucek, with the Diplomats only barely failing to score from the ensuing scrum near the goal mouth. Sabrina Graziano registered a close call of her own when her first-time shot flew just high in the 68th minute.
A third Swarthmore goal in the 74th minute unbalanced what had largely been an even half of play. Two more goals in the next four minutes allowed the Garnet to coast to victory, 5-0.
Sarah Mischianti and Graziano accounted for the Diplomat efforts on goal.
Caroline Letner logged three saves, while both Savidge and Shannon Johnson-Finn contributed two.
F&M returns to action next Saturday, traveling to Ursinus for a 5:00 p.m. matchup.
