ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - Franklin & Marshall head men's soccer coach Dan Wagner reached the 100-win plateau as the fifth-ranked Diplomats captured the annual Smith-Herr Boot Game for the second year in a row with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Elizabethtown in non-conference action on Wednesday. The Diplomats move to 5-0 with the win, while the Blue Jays drop to 1-3-1.

In addition to reaching the century mark in victories, Wagner becomes the program's all-time leader in coaching wins. He surpasses Robert Smith, who ironically is the same Smith the annual clash with Elizabethtown is named in honor of. Smith amassed 99 wins for F&M from 1947-63. Wagner is the eighth coach in Centennial Conference (CC) history and the third active conference coach to achieve the 100-win milestone.

After a scoreless first half, the Diplomats broke the 0-0 tie in the 54th minute. Sam Lane sent a corner kick into the box, and Max Watson fired a shot on goal that was stopped by Blue Jay goalkeeper Eric Carr, but Chris Scott was in the right place to clean up the loose rebound for an 1-0 F&M edge.

The Diplomats maintained their one-goal lead until Elizabethtown took advantage of a penalty kick opportunity in the 80th minute. Adriano Maneo buried the penalty kick to pull the Blue Jays even at 1-1.

The deadlock didn't last long, however, as Mike Irving rocketed a blast into the upper left corner of the net at the 83:29 mark for his first tally of the season and the game-winning score.

T.J. White (5-0) turned away two Blue Jay shots to earn the victory in the full 90 minutes. Carr totaled five saves for Elizabethtown in 53:14 of action before receiving a red card and having to leave the contest. Rodrigo Barrera registered seven saves in 36:46 of relief.

F&M outshot the Blue Jays 23-8, including a 16-4 margin in the second frame.

Wednesday's contest marked the 35th annual meeting of The Battle of the Boot, with the Diplomats keeping the Smith-Herr Boot on the F&M campus. The bronze boot is named after former coaches Robert Smith and Ira R. Herr. Smith coached F&M from 1947-63, while Herr coached at Elizabethtown from 1938-48 and 1958-60. 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 Diplomats open CC play at home on Saturday against Swarthmore. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.

 #5 F&M (5-0) vs. Elizabethtown (1-3-1)

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 F&M.................  0  2 -  2
 Elizabethtown.......  0  1 -  1
 
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  53:14 F&M Chris Scott (1) (Max Watson) - 11 shot stopped, 14 puts in rebound
  2.  79:23 ETWN-M Adriano Maneo (1) Penalty kick
  3.  83:29 F&M Mike Irving (1) (unassisted) - 12 shot from outside 18 on right side, bullet into upper left corner

 Shots: F&M 23, Elizabethtown 8
 Saves: F&M 2 (TJ White 2), Elizabethtown 13 (Eric Carr 5; Rodrigo Barrera 7; TEAM 1)