By Sophie Afdhal, Sports Editor ||
Men’s soccer continued what has been a strong, undefeated season with a 1-0 win against the also undefeated Muhlenberg College in double overtime. The win ups F&M’s record to 10-0-1 in Centennial Conference play.
This matchup was an important one for the Dips. The men are currently ranked 8th in the country and Muhlenberg is currently 21st. In the home stretch of the season, with roughly 6 games until the end of the regular season, this win separates the Dips from the rest of the Centennial Conference pack.
It was not an expected win and the men battled through every minute of play. The team held more shots on goal 14-10 as well as corners by a 10-4 margin.
Despite their higher shot ratio, it wasn’t until 5 minutes from their second tie of the season that F&M was able to get one past the Muhlenberg goalie. Janse Schermerhorn ’18 sent the ball sailing to Jared Bomba ’15 who shot from the left side and sunk the goal for the win.
Bomba has once again proved himself to have the ability to come through for the team. This goal was Bomba’s seventh and gives him possession of the third place ranking for the all-time scoring list. The first place ranking is held by Ben Beaver who scored 20 goals during his F&M career.
Goalie Trevor Britton ’16 continued the strong season he has been having. He had three saves to give him his seventh shutout of the season. Despite their loss, the Muhlenberg goalie performed very well and had two impressive saves. This win increases already high team enthusiasm.
“This is a huge conference win for us,” said Matt Landy ’15, “Both us and Muhlenberg were undefeated and for us to square off so late in the season is a big deal. With Bomba scoring so late in the game it really shows our mental toughness and ability to come out with a victory.”
The win, while important, is just one in a string of important games that the men must win in order to continue their season in the playoffs and possibly, the NCAAs.
Landy has conflicting feelings about playing his last season of soccer but wants to go out with a strong finish.
“It’s double-edge sword to be doing so well in your last season of soccer,” Landy said. “It really incentivizes you to extend the season as long as possible, not only for my fellow seniors but also for the rest of my team. We really are a special group of guys and I want to make this ride as memorable as possible.”
The Diplomats have a lot of potential this season and if their wins thus far are any indication, there is a good chance their season will extend well past the remaining six regular season games.
Senior Sophie Afdhal is the Sports Editor. Her email is safdhal@fandm.edu.