SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 4 seed Franklin & Marshall women's soccer team (11-5-4, 5-3-2 CC) battled to the end, but came up just short in a 1-0 defeat to top-seeded No. 13 Swarthmore (14-2-3, 9-0-1 CC) Friday evening in the Centennial Conference (CC) Tournament Semifinals. The Garnet found the back of the net in the 43rd minute to advance to the CC Championship game on Sunday.

Both teams displayed strong offensive performances in the first half with a combined 22 shots and Swarthmore leading the shot category, 13-9, in the first 45 minutes of play.

F&M had its first shot on goal in the 21st minutes as Zoe Warne fired an attempt that was saved by Swarthmore's goalkeeper Dahlia Bedward. In the 36th minute, Meg Balerna tried a shot to the top-right corner of the cage, but Bedward denied the chance once again. The Garnet fired four shot attempts in the final five minutes with the fourth shot finding the back of the net to give the home team the lead.

Both teams came out firing to start the second half with both goalkeepers making saves just three minutes into the period. The Diplomats had a late surge that began with a shot on goal from Warne in the 85th minute, but her chance was denied by Bedward. F&M had shots from Julianna Sirico and Elizabeth Jones in the final two minutes, but both shots went wide-left of the net to seal the game for Swarthmore.

The Garnet held a 17-15 shot advantage in the game. Lillian Williams led the Diplomats with four shots, while Balerna, Jones, Sirico, and Warne tallied two apiece in the match. Goalkeeper Lucy Fleming made five saves to keep F&M in the contest, but the visitors couldn't catch the Garnet on the scoreboard.

Franklin & Marshall finishes a brilliant season, earning an 11-5-4 record with a 5-3-2 record against Centennial Conference (CC) opponents.