Ryan Sandell vs. Franklin & Marshall 9/14/16
David Sinclair
2
Winner Franklin & Marshall F&M (4-0-2)
0
Elizabethtown ETOWN (4-1)
Winner
Franklin & Marshall F&M
(4-0-2)
2
Final
0
Elizabethtown ETOWN
(4-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Franklin & Marshall F&M 0 2 2
Elizabethtown ETOWN 0 0 0

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

No. 7 Diplomats prevail in battle with No. 15 Blue Jays

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Seventh-ranked Franklin & Marshall scored a pair of second-half goals, retaining its hold on the Smith-Herr Boot with a 2-0 defeat of the No. 15 Elizabethtown men's soccer team Wednesday evening at Herr Field.

Connor Whitacre's header at the 56 minute mark put the visiting Diplomats on top and Ugo Okolie provided insurance with a blast near the left post 1:08 from the finish. Franklin & Marshall (4-0-2) has won three straight in the series and denied the Jays' bid to recapture the boot for the first time since a 0-0 tie in 2013, in one of the most hotly contested non-conference rivalry games in the country.

Elizabethtown (4-1), which suffered its first loss of the season after outscoring opponents 16-1 over its first four games, took the game to F&M early and carried a 6-1 shot advantage to the half.

Diplomats' keeper Dave Reingold was tested, twice stopping Gilbert Waso and fending off the Blue and Gray's advances in the 15th minute when Jeff Light and Waso came calling, before Scott Hess' third opportunity went a few feet left of the frame.

Franklin & Marshall would stem the tide and tighten up its defense, allowing just one E-town shot over the final 30:11 of the opening half.

Whitacre broke through 11 minutes into the second, heading Janse Schermerhorn's cross from the right side into the left upper 90. Defender Jeremy Levine also picked up an assist on Whitacre's first of the season.

Elizabethtown keeper Ryan Sandell faced 14 shots, including seven on goal. The Medford, New Jersey, product, who came into the game second in the Landmark in goals against average (0.32) and third in save percentage (.917), rose to the challenge multiple times.

Less than 30 seconds after half, Sandell stoned back-to-back bids from Jason Tonelli in close. E-town's senior backstop also turned aside Okolie, the reigning Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, at the 50-minute mark on his way to a season-high five saves.

Danny Sullivan's attempt from just outside the six-yard box in the 74th minute was stopped by Reingold and Aaron Rathsam's shot in the 86th sailed just over the crossbar; they signified E-town's best chances while facing a one-goal deficit.

Okolie would secure the result in F&M's favor with a blast in close in the 89th minute, set up by Ben Draheim.

Reingold matched Sandell in stopping five shots to earn his third shutout of the season for the Diplomats.

Elizabethtown will try to bounce back from its first defeat of 2016 when it plays its first road game Saturday at Penn State Harrisburg. Game time is 1 p.m.
 
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