CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The No. 2 Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team suffered its first defeat of the 2021 season as the Diplomats (4-1, 0-1 CC) fell 2-0 to host Washington College in the Centennial Conference opener on Saturday. The Shoremen (5-2, 1-0 CC) scored both of their goals just 5:02 apart during the opening half.

Washington College's two goals came during a first half where the Shoremen held a 7-2 advantage in shots. Goalkeeper Sam Altman Farrell made one save during that time. WAC's first goal came when the hosts were awarded a penalty kick during the 23rd minute of play. That goal marked the first that the Diplomats had conceded in just over 403 minutes of regular season action.

Just five minutes later, Alex Coster found himself with possession in the box and got to the lucky bounce off the left post and in as his side found itself up 2-0 during the 28th minute of play.

Looking to get back into the match, the Diplomats registered the only two shots on goal of the second half for either team. Nevertheless, Washington College goalie Anthony Pinto came up with both of those stops during the 52nd and 68th minutes of play. F&M totaled five shots in the second half during their bid to get back into the contest. A.J. Kopacz led F&M with three shots on the evening while Kane Feudtner also tallied multiple shot attempts.

After playing its Centennial Conference opener this weekend, the Diplomats will return to non-conference action on Wednesday with a road trip to William Paterson. That contest will be a 7 p.m. match played under the lights.