Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – Janse Schermerhorn's goal in the 26th minute proved to be enough for the No. 5 Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team in a 1-0 shutout of Gettysburg on Wednesday evening at Tylus Field. With the Diplomats' victory, and Dickinson's 2-1 loss to No. 19 Muhlenberg, F&M clinched the top seed and home field advantage in the upcoming Centennial Conference (CC) Tournament for the first time since 2007.
The Diplomats remained unbeaten on the year at 15-0-1, 8-0 CC, while the Bullets fell to 9-6-1, 2-5-1 CC.
A Jeremy Levine corner in the 17th minute setup F&M's first opportunity of the game, when Chase TenBrook cut to the net and sent a header on goal that sailed just high of the crossbar. Nine minutes later, Jared Bomba beat his defender on the left side of the field by the end line and sent a pass to the middle that hit off a defender in the box, before finding a waiting Schermerhorn for the strike.
The Diplomats nearly made it a two-goal game with only two minutes to go in the first. Chris Scott had a seemingly empty look at the net, heading a ball past the Bullets' keeper on the far left side of the box, but a Gettysburg defender was there to turn back the opportunity.
The Bullets came out of the break with a sense of purpose on the offensive end, matching F&M's intensity from the first half and firing a handful of scoring chances on net, but Britton stood tall to keep Gettysburg off the board.
Just five minutes into the second frame, a cross from the Bullets on the right side to a cutting defender just feet from the goal provided some tension for the Diplomats. However, Britton put an end to the threat by charging out of net and sliding to cutoff the pass.
Eighteen minutes remained on the clock when a long Bullets' throw in on the right side led to a header in the box, however Britton came up with another huge stop as F&M hung on for the one-goal victory.
Britton picked up four saves to improve to 15-0-1 on the season, while his counterpart Max Karen (2-5-1) was dealt the loss after a two-save showing. The shutout marked Britton's 10th of the season, placing him just one shy of the single-season record, which was set by T.J. White last year. By earning his 15th win, Britton tied the all-time single-season mark, again set by White in 2013.
The Diplomats held the edge in shots at 12-9, despite Gettysburg owning the 8-5 advantage in the second frame. Corners belonged to F&M at 6-0, with three coming in each half. Devon Malfitano, TenBrook and Schermerhorn each notched a pair of shots on the evening.
F&M wraps up the regular season on Saturday when the Diplomats face off against Dickinson on the road at 4:30 p.m. With a win over the weekend, F&M would become the first institution to enter the conference tournament unbeaten in CC play since Swarthmore in 2012.
