LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 2 seed Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team (9-2-7, 7-1-1 CC) was defeated by the No. 3 seed Muhlenberg, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference (CC) Tournament Friday evening at Tylus Field. The Mules used two first-half goals to jump in front of the Diplomats early – conceding just one goal to advance to the CC Championship on Sunday.

Trailing 2-0 in the 77th minute, a foul just outside the Muhlenberg box set up a free kick for the Diplomats. Jack Borden rocketed his fourth goal of the season into the top-left corner of the net to cut the deficit in half. From that point, the Diplomats generated just two shots on target for the rest of the contest with both attempts being saved by the Mules' goalkeeper Ben Mulford.

F&M had strong opportunities throughout the game with its first great chance coming in the 43rd minute. Behind 2-0, Franklin & Marshall pushed the ball deep into Muhlenberg's defensive area. Nic Petruso fired a shot that was saved by Mulford. The rebound bounced out to Wes Wise, who sent a second shot towards the net. However, Mulford was able to get in front of shot to deny the Diplomats' scoring chance.

Despite trailing on the scoreboard at halftime, F&M doubled Muhlenberg in shots, 12-6, after 45 minutes of play.

Franklin & Marshall came out of the intermission firing with an early chance in the 48th minute as Nathan Schlessinger's shot was blocked in front of the net. The rebound rolled out to Jack Nury who scorched a shot off the crossbar and out of play for a goal kick. Five minutes later, Petruso and Oscar Horwitz sent back-to-back shot attempts at the Mules' net, but two athletic saves from Mulford kept the Diplomats off the scoreboard in the 53rd minute.

F&M had its greatest scoring opportunity come in the 69th minute as a hand-ball was called in the visitor's box to set up a penalty kick for Adam Green. However, Green sent his shot just over the crossbar and out of play.

F&M outshot Muhlenberg, 30-9, in the contest as the Diplomats also generated nine corner kicks in the game. Borden led F&M with five shots, followed by Koa Kaliebe and Petruso each recording four attempts in the match.

No. 19 Franklin & Marshall now sets its sights on the NCAA Tournament with the selection show airing on Monday at 1:30 p.m. on NCAA.com