LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 22 Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team (0-1) was defeated in its season opener by Stockton (1-0), 2-1, Friday evening under the lights at Tylus Field. F&M took the lead early in the second half, but the Ospreys responded with two-unanswered goals to hand the Diplomats their first regular season non-conference loss since 2023.

Franklin & Marshall generated 10 shots in the first half, but couldn't break the scoreless tie in the first 45 minutes of the contest. However, the Diplomats earned a prime chance to break into the scoring column in the 49th minute as a foul in the Osprey's box gave F&M a penalty kick opportunity. Thomas Kaplan took the kick and fired it past the goalkeeper for his fifth-career goal, putting F&M ahead 1-0.

Stockton answered with goals in the 55th and 63rd minutes of the match to take a 2-1 advantage.

Franklin & Marshall had a great chance at scoring the equalizer in the 78th minute as Miguel Rosa sent a shot in front of the net, but Stockton's Brady Bartletta made a miraculous save to deny the chance. Just one minute later, Kaplan tried a shot at the Stockton cage, but Bartletta once again made a huge save to maintain the lead.

F&M outshot Stockton in the contest, 17-13, but both teams finished with six shots on goal each. Nathan Schlessinger and Kaplan ended the match with a team-high four shots each, while Ethan Phillips tallied three. Goalkeeper Nolan Booth made four saves in the game, but took the loss in net.

No. 22 Franklin & Marshall looks to bounce back when they travel to play Rowan, a team receiving votes in the national poll, on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.