Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team (5-1-2, 0-0-2 CC) will head out on the road for its next three matches. The Diplomats begin this stretch with conference matchups against Ursinus (Wednesday) and McDaniel (Saturday) before a non-conference battle at Alvernia on Monday evening.  After this three game stretch, the Diplomats will be back at home for three straight contests as part of four home matches over the final six dates of the regular season. 

Last Week

The Diplomats were ranked No. 9 in last week's United Soccer Coaches Association National poll, but suffered their first defeat of the season at NJAC foe Kean last Wednesday. Despite the Diplomats outshooting Kean by a 14-12 margin, the hosts found the back of the net for the game-winner during the 80th minute to pull the upset. Franklin & Marshall racked up 10 total shots in the first half, but Kean's defense adjusted well at the halftime break- allowing just four total shots in the final 45 minutes. F&M had 11 shots on goal in the game with four coming from Koa Kaliebe. The Diplomats' six-game unbeaten streak was the longest to open a season since F&M's 10-game unbeaten streak to start the 2018 campaign.

In a very similar result to its Centennial Conference opener at Haverford, F&M ended its battle with Swarthmore in a 1-1 draw. F&M peppered Swarthmore's net with 25 shots, putting six of those attempts on target. Despite the constant pressure that the Garnet defense was under, Swarthmore got into the scoring column first during the 59th minute.  The Diplomats continued their late match heroics and managed to tie the game with 3:59 showing in regulation. Earning a direct kick in Garnet territory, Koa Kaliebe rocketed a shot into the top-right corner of the net to tie the game. The score was Kaliebe's fourth goal this year, with all four being crucial game-tying efforts. In addition to his goal, Kaliebe led the Diplomats with eight shots, while Oscar Horwitz tallying seven shots in the match.

Centennial Conference Logjam

The Diplomats have outshot Haverford and Swarthmore by a combined 51-7 margin during their first two Centennial Conference matches of the year. However, they have just two points to show for those efforts and needed late goals in both contests to secure draws after controlling the vase majority of the action. With games now ending in a draw after regulation - a rule put into action before the 2022 season - six of the first 10 Centennial Conference matches of the year have resulted in ties. Contary to what many would expect, none have been of the scoreless variety. Every single time a team can get three points, it is a huge advantage. Ursinus and McDaniel have each done so twice and are tied for third in the conference with 1-1 marks. Muhlenberg and Washington College are leading the way with four points (1-0-1). The Diplomats are one of four teams tied for fifth place after two matches, but they are just two points out of first. Dickinson and Johns Hopkins are tied for last (0-1-1), but sit just three points behind the standings leaders.

Last Time vs. Ursinus

The Diplomats have won eight straight against the Bears dating back to the 2014 season and have posted shutouts during five of the last six matchups. The longest win streak for F&M in the all-time series is 10 straight from 1940-53. Franklin & Marshall held its Senior Day against Ursinus in 2022 and celebrated its Class of 2023 with a 2-0 win over the Bears during TrueBlue Weekend. Shay Adamson '23 had a memorable senior night as he put the Diplomats on the scoreboard first off a feed from Koa Kaliebe during the 24th minute. Kaliebe extended the F&M lead during the 54th minute, with Adam Green assisting on the goal. The Diplomats finished with a 20-6 edge in shots during that contest.

Last Time vs. McDaniel

The Green Terror have not beaten the Diplomats since the 2005 season. However, the Green Terror have salvaged scoreless draws during two of the last four meetings, including one of those results coming just last fall. In between those ties, the Diplomats rolled to 7-0 (2019) and 3-0 (2021) victories. Stop us if you have heard this before, but the F&M outshot the Green Terror 16-3 in that contest. Philip Monos and Nathan Schlessinger led the F&M offense with four shots each in last year's meeting. Sam Farrell only faced one shot on goal the entire match which came during the 17th minute following one of just three corner kicks that McDaniel earned on the day compared to eight for the Diplomats.

Last Time vs. Alvernia

F&M is 5-0-1 all-time against Alvernia, with each of those meetings coming every year except 2018 between the 2013 and 2019 seasons. In 2019, it was a 3-0 shutout that went in favor of the Diplomats who have now won each of the last four matches against the Golden Wolves. A barrage of shots during the early stages of the opening half eventually paid off for F&M when Christian Avila Neres connected on a solo score in the 26th minute to put his side up 1-0. F&M was unable to add on before halftime despite heading into the break with a commanding 15-1 advantage in shots. However, the Diplomats' persistance paid off during the second half with goals from A.J. Kopacz and Seifu Zerabruk. The overall shot count heavily favored the Diplomats at 34-4 for the game with a 19-3 advantage in the second half. Corners also leaned F&M's way at 7-1. 

Ursinus Team Preview

The Bears are off to a 6-1 start this season, sporting a 1-1 record in Centennial Conference action. Ursinus' lone loss came by a 4-1 score against McDaniel, but the Bears enter the week following a 1-0 shutout win against Johns Hopkins. The Bears are outscoring their opponents 26-6 through their first seven matches and saw defender Joshua Coster be named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week after helping his team to a pair of shutouts and scoring the game-winning goal against the Blue Jays. Colin Deal is leading the Bears with five goals, while teammates Julian Faust and Tommy Mollis have each scored four times in seven matches. The trio makes up half of Ursinus' six players who have multiple tallies on the year. Ursinus is averaging 3.71 goals per game and shutout the opposition in four of its first seven contests.  

McDaniel Team Preview

The Green Terror are 3-1-4 on the year and feature a 1-1 record in Centennial Conference action. Their victory came by a 4-1 margin against the aforementioned Bears but they will be looking to bounce back after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Washington College this past Saturday. McDaniel will also host Johns Hopkins this Wednesday before matching up with the Diplomats on Saturday. The Green Terror are averaging 1.25 goals per game on offense while limiting opponents to 0.50 goals against on average. McDaniel has shutout the opposition three times, but has also been shutout itself on three occasions. Austin Heid has seen most of the minutes in goal and has two of those shutouts to his credit and is 3-1-2 as the goalie of record. AJ Nardone leads the Green Terror with three goals. Carver Neary, Brandon Morse, and Charlie Olsen have also scored twice as those top four goal scorers have accounted for nine of the team's 10 tallies during the first half of the season.

Alvernia Team Preview

Alvernia is 3-4 on the year and will begin MAC Commonwealth play this Saturday at Stevenson before turning around to host the Diplomats on Monday, October 2. The Golden Wolves are coming off a 4-1 win against Cabrini after falling shy against No. 5 Montclair State by a 2-1 final that same week. Alvernia defeated Penn State Harrisburg by a 2-0 score during the season opener and has a 4-2 loss against Elizabethtown on its record. F&M owns a 4-2 win over PSU Harrisburg this season and reclaimed the Boot with a 1-0 victory over the Blue Jays. Alvernia also has a 3-2 win against a Lancaster Bible team that F&M will face in late October. The Golden Wolves have played high-scoring affairs as they average two goals per game while allowing 2.14 goals per game on average. Just one of their matches (PSU Harrisburg) has resulted in either side being shut out. Justin Fetrow leads Alvernia's offense with five goals, while Ryan Cogill (4g, 3a) is the team leader with 11 points. Gabe Wunderlich is another threat to keep an eye on with his three goals and two assists.

Among the Best

Both the Franklin & Marshall men's and women's soccer programs are one of only eight programs that have both their men's and women's team ranked inside last week's United Soccer Coaches top 25 polls.