Box Score Box Score
LANCASTER, Pa. - Franklin & Marshall's women's soccer team gave Ursinus all it could handle, but ultimately came up short in a hard-fought 1-0 loss on Saturday evening.
The Centennial Conference (CC) defeat dropped the Diplomats to 1-9-1, 0-6 CC while the Bears improved to 5-5-2, 2-4 CC.
In the 14thminute, F&M looked to strike early when Nicolette Runko caught up to a long through ball in the box and fired back-to-back shots on net but Ursinus' goalkeeper was there for a pair of point-blank saves.
Neither team threatened offensively through the remainder of the first, and entering the break, the Bears led in shots by an 8-4 margin, while corners were closer at 3-2 in favor of Ursinus.
Both team's defense held steady through the opening 55 minutes of the game until the Bears found space in the Diplomats' 18-yard box and went ahead 1-0 off a Mackenzie Groff shot into the lower right of the net.
With 16 minutes remaining, Ali Cunniffe twirled a long cross into the box from 40 yards out and nearly found a cutting Runko. However, F&M was unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity.
Nine minutes later, Runko broke through the backline and had a chance on the far side of the field, but her low shot on goal was turned by by the Ursinus 'keeper.
With under a minute remaining, Kirsten Heine lined up for a corner opportunity and fed a chance into the box that found the head of Allison Klei but sailed high over the crossbar.
The overall shot count favored Ursinus by a 12-8 margin but was even at 4-4 in the final stanza. Corners were also even for the game at 3-3. Runko led the Diplomat offense with three shots, followed by Cunniffe with two.
Goalkeeper Gabby Panayotakis (0-6-1) was charged with the loss despite a five-save effort in net, while the Bears' Sabrina Doherty (5-5-2) earned the win after recording four saves.
F&M returns to the pitch on Wednesday, continuing CC competition by heading to Gettysburg for a 7:00 p.m. game.
