Box Score Box Score
HAVERFORD, Pa. - A pair of first-half goals keyed a 2-0 Centennial Conference (CC) Semifinal win for No. 19 Franklin & Marshall's men's soccer team over No. 11 Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon on the campus of Haverford College.
The Diplomats improved to 13-2-3 with the victory, while the Blue Jays fell to 13-4-1.
Saturday's win propelled the Diplomats into tomorrow's Championship match against host Haverford at 1:00 p.m. F&M is aiming for its second straight CC Crown and third overall. The Fords advanced after downing Dickinson by a 1-0 tally earlier in the day. These two program's last squared off in the CC Final back in 2016 with the Fords taking a narrow 2-1 win.
F&M got the scoring started in the 19th minute when Dallen Moore found Steven Yakita with a feed behind the Blue Jays' backline. Yakita lofted a shot over the head over the Hopkins' goalkeeper for the 1-0 edge.
In the 33rd minute, the Diplomats padded their lead and made it a 2-0 game when Ryan Corr's through pass located Robert Maze, who finished from 18 yards out.
The Diplomats' defense took over from there, limiting Hopkins to just four shots in the second half en route to the shutout win.
Goalkeeper Sebastian Jenkins improved to a perfect 7-0 on the year with his fifth shutout of the year after notching three saves on the day. Hopkins' Xander Lefevre (13-4-1) suffered the loss despite five saves in the game.
The overall shot count favored F&M by a 13-9 margin, as well as corners at 4-3. Jim Connolly and Ryan Fincher led the way with two shots each.
