Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – For the second consecutive day Franklin & Marshall's men's soccer team faced off against an opponent ranked in the preseason top-25 and for the second consecutive day the Diplomats came away with a 1-0 victory; this time downing No. 11 York by a 1-0 score on Saturday night at Tylus Field.
F&M captured the trophy at the opening-weekend tournament behind a stout defense, timely scoring and another remarkable performance by goalie Trevor Britton, improving to 2-0 on the season, while the Spartans dropped to 0-1-1.
Knotted at 0-0 in the 63rd minute, Chase TenBrook sent a pass to Sam Lane on the far left side of the field, who dribbled the ball toward the end line and sent a shot off the hands of York's goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the deciding tally.
The pace started out slowly with the Diplomats controlling possession early on but seeing limited scoring opportunities through the opening half of the first. In the 38th minute, Conor Pellas chipped the ball into the box where a waiting Jason Tonelli had a brief look at the net, but a York slide tackle knocked the ball out of bounds and denied the scoring chance.
The Spartans had an opportunity of their own just two minutes later when a header in the box off a free kick resulted in a stop from Britton.
York continued to put on the pressure in the second half, breaking away from the F&M defenders with 13:40 on the clock and getting its best look of the game. The ball was chipped ahead to Christopher Gillespie, who was 10 feet out from Britton, however the Diplomats' junior keeper made an aggressive play on the ball, coming out of the net for a sliding stop.
Britton (2-0) picked up his second shutout in as many games, blanking his second ranked opponent after not allowing a goal to No. 2 Rutgers-Camden on Friday afternoon in a 1-0 win. He finished Saturday's contest with three saves, while his counterpart Charlie Johnson (0-1-1) was dealt the loss after registering a pair of stops.
F&M outshot York by a 10-8 score, with the Spartans holding the 7-6 edge in the second half. York also led on corners at 4-2.
For their efforts over the weekend, Lane, Britton, Jared Bomba, Chris Scott and Max Watson were named to the 2014 Holiday Inn Scrapyard Classic All-Tournament Team.
The Diplomats return to action on Saturday when F&M hosts Lebanon Valley at 4:00 p.m.
