Box Score Box Score | Game-Winning Goal
LANCASTER, Pa. – Jason Tonelli's 88th-minute goal broke a scoreless game and delivered Franklin & Marshall's No. 22 men's soccer team a 1-0 win over Muhlenberg on Saturday evening at Tylus in the Centennial Conference (CC) opener for both schools.
The Diplomats improved to 3-2-1, 1-0 CC with the win while the Mules dropped to 2-2-1, 0-1 CC.
To view a video of Tonelli's game-winner, click here.
Knotted at 0-0 with under two minutes remaining in regulation, a Jim Connolly corner kick was whipped into the center of the box where Ryan Corr sent a turn around deflection underneath to Tonelli. The senior forward gained position on his defender and managed to place a right-footed attempt toward the lower right corner of the goal.
The winning score was the result of a dominant second half from the F&M offense, who came out of the halftime break with a rejuvenated sense of urgency to find the back of the net and a flurry of attempts on goal.
An Alex Martinez corner in the 62nd minute led to a golden F&M opportunity in the box. Connor Whitacre sent a header on net, but Muhlenberg's 'keeper was there to turn back the chance. In the 76th, Steven Sherbahn collected the ball in the corner of F&M's offensive third and threaded a cross to the far post that was headed just wide by Ryan Fincher.
The overall shot count favored F&M by an 18-10 margin with a 10-4 advantage in the second half. Corners also belonged to the Diplomats at 7-4 with a 5-1 edge in the final 45 minutes of action.
Sebastian Jenkins (3-1-1) stood tall in net with a pair of stops to record his second shutout of the season, while Jordan Schreer (2-2-1) suffered the loss despite turning back five attempts.
Tonelli paced the offensive charge with four shots, followed by Whitacre and Ben Draheim with three each.
Non-conference competition picks back up on Wednesday when F&M travels to No. 24 Rowan for a 7:00 p.m. showdown
