The Blue Jays dropped a game against the sixth-ranked Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. The Diplomats scored their first and only goal with only 11 seconds left in the game, leaving the Blue Jays without enough time to catch up. The final score of Saturday’s game was 1-0.
Senior goalkeeper Bryan See described how the contest remained competitive throughout, with both teams exerting maximum effort and giving it their all.
“It was a very evenly fought match. Both teams came out with lots of energy, and I thought we put up a great team effort to hold them off until the final seconds,” See said.
Since it was the Diplomats’ homecoming game, the Blue Jays played in front of a full house last Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays faced not only a ranked team but also the Diplomats’ home-team advantage.
Although both teams battled throughout the game, the Diplomats outshot the Blue Jays by a margin of 22-6.
“We defended really well the entire game, which makes it hard for them to break us down,” See said. “On the other hand, the referee’s decisions were very questionable, and that made it really hard for us to find the breakthrough goal.”
During the 89th minute, the Diplomats finally capitalized on their many attempts, as defender Ben Wild came through with the game-winning goal.
The Diplomats’ defender Ben Draheim sent a corner kick to teammate and freshman forward Connor Whitacre, who attempted to head the ball in. Although the shot was blocked by the Blue Jay defense, the Diplomats’ midfielder Alex Bilodeau got a hold on the rebound and made the assist to Wild.
Wild took the pass and hammered the ball into the back of the net to give the Diplomats the lead with under two minutes to play.
In the last 11 seconds of the game, senior forward and midfielder Samy Ramadane tried to get his team to overtime. He made a shot from 30 yards out, but the Diplomats’ goalkeeper Dave Reingold made the save to seal the Diplomats’ shutout victory.
“Losing with seconds remaining is extremely hard to swallow, but there’s no point dwelling on the past because the next three games are extremely important,” See said. “I truly believe that we are capable of coming back stronger after a loss, as proven in the past.”
Although the Diplomats have defeated the Blue Jays the past three times they have met, the two teams have had a history of close matchups. Since 2000, there have been 16 games where the outcome was decided by just one goal and 4 games where they tied.
Saturday’s game was déjà vu of last year’s contest with the Diplomats, who were the sixth ranked team when facing the Jays last year as well. Franklin & Marshall would also go on to win that game on a goal scored within the last 10 seconds of regulation.
Although the outcome was in favor of the Diplomats, the Blue Jays recognized that they are just as talented as ranked teams.
“We are extra determined when playing against ranked opponents because we want to be recognized.” See said. “We came in well aware that we are just as good as any team ranked nationally. The result may prove otherwise, but we clearly displayed that we are an equally strong team.”
The Blue Jays have displayed improvement from prior seasons. They plan to capitalize on this upward growth to achieve their goals of winning the Centennial Conference Tournament and receiving a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“We have definitely improved a lot technically and tactically, as we are able to posses the ball better this year,” See said. “I think the main difference is that our new defensive line is doing a much better job. We have conceded less goals thus far this season.”
For the first time in 21 days, the Blue Jays will return to Homewood field on Sunday, Oct. 22 to play the Muhlenberg Mules.
