LANCASTER, Pa. - In the 34th meeting of The Battle of the Boot, the Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team reclaimed the historic rivalries' trophy with a 2-0 triumph over visiting Elizabethtown in non-conference play on Wednesday night at Tylus Field. The Diplomats move to 6-3-1 with the victory, while the Blue Jays fall to 5-4.

After a scoreless first half, the Diplomats turned it on in the second stanza. Ben Beaver notched his team-high ninth goal of the year in the 49th minute to put F&M up 1-0. Beaver ran onto a long feed up the middle from Mike Irving, fended off a pair of Blue Jay defenders and scooped a shot into the right netting.

In the 61st minute, F&M stretched its advantage to the final count of 2-0. Sam Lane sent a perfect cross from the left side to the far post and Shawn Ganow headed it home for his second score of the season to give the Diplomats the two-goal advantage.

The Blue Jays pushed forward dangerously multiple times over the final 25 minutes of play, but goalkeeper Zach Fernberger and the F&M defense held strong to preserve the shutout.

The Diplomats also had several good looks at net down the stretch, none more so than Beaver's opportunity in the 87th minute. The sophomore forward raced onto a loose ball just over midfield and dribbled towards goal with two defenders just behind him. He then juked around Blue Jay goalkeeper Eric Carr near the top of the box and fired a shot that caromed off the far post with a pair of defenders standing on the goal line.

Fernberger pushed aside five Elizabethtown shots to earn the win, while Eric Carr tallied two saves in a losing effort.

With the victory, the Smith-Herr Bronze Boot returns to the F&M campus. The bronze boot is a soccer shoe originally worn by Al Hershey, who was a two-time All-American at Elizabethtown before later coaching the Blue Jays and F&M. The boot is named for Robert Smith, who coached F&M from 1947 to 1963, and Ira R. Herr, who coached Elizabethtown from 1938 to 1948 and 1958 to 1960.

F&M returns to Centennial Conference (CC) play on Sunday, Oct. 9 as it hosts McDaniel at 2:00 pm at Tylus Field.

 Elizabethtown (5-4, 0-1) vs. Franklin & Marshall (6-3-1, 2-2)

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 Elizabethtown.......  0  0 -  0
 Franklin & Marshall.  0  2 -  2
 
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  48:47 F&M Ben Beaver (9) (Mike Irving) - long pass from back touched past gk right side
  2.  60:16 F&M Shawn Ganow (2) (Sam Lane) - cross from left header to near post

 Shots: Elizabethtown 9, Franklin & Marshall 13
 Saves: Elizabethtown 2 (Eric Carr 2), Franklin & Marshall 5 (Zach Fernberger 5)