BALTIMORE, MD – Visiting Franklin & Marshall got a goal late in the first half and the Diplomats made it stand up under constant pressure over the final 45 minutes as they knocked off eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins, 1-0, at Homewood Field Saturday evening.
 
The loss snaps a 12-game unbeaten streak for the Blue Jays, who slip to 9-2-3 overall and 7-1 in the Centennial Conference, while the Diplomats improve to 6-3-6 overall and 4-1-3 in the Centennial.
 
Neither team generated significant scoring chances in a first half that saw the Diplomats capitalize on their only dangerous opportunity for what proved to be the only goal of the game.  After deflecting a ball near midfield, Colleen Ferrarese took a lead pass on the run and got inside her defender as she worked towards the top of the box.  There, she drew possession back to the inside, got her left foot free and stuck one under the crossbar to give the Diplomats the one-goal lead.
 
The Blue Jays turned up the pressure in the second half and used a dominant possession advantage to create several strong scoring changes.  A Megha Salvi shot from eight yards out in the 54^th minute was played well, but F&M goalie Lucy Fleming was positioned perfectly and easily made the save.  Senior Katie Sullivan had a pair of chances midway through the half, but her chip in the 54^th minute drifted just wide and her free kick with just under 18 minutes remaining had great pace, but Fleming went low on the near post to turn it away.  Sullivan also got her left foot free near the top of the box in the 80^th minute, but fired it over the crossbar from 15 yards out.
 
With the Diplomats dropping all 10 field players deep in their end, the Blue Jays continued to pressure late and had two chances to pull even.  Salvi chested a cross toward the back post in the 82^nd minute, but Fleming was there to smother it and Lily Gaston sent a rocket on frame from 20 yards out just two minutes later, but it was right at Fleming who easily grabbed it to seal the shutout.
 
Notes:  The goal for the Diplomats in the 37^th minute was the first goal the Blue Jays had allowed I more than 512 minutes (512:32) dating back to a second half goal Dickinson scored on September 25.
 
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Wednesday, October 23 when the Blue Jays step out of Centennial Conference play and travel to Penn State Harrisburg (7:30 pm).