Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall used a pair of first-half goals to go ahead early and never look back, outlasting Elizabethtown by a 4-2 score on Wednesday evening at Tylus field to retain possession of the historic Smith-Herr Boot Trophy.
The No. 4 Diplomats remained undefeated on the year at 6-0, while the No. 22 Blue Jays dropped their first contest of the season and now sit at 5-1.
The annual "Battle of the Boot" began in 1977 and has been played each year since – aside from a rainout in 2010. The Smith-Herr 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 1938-48 and 1958-60.
After a quick-paced start to the game that saw scoring chances on both sides, F&M was the first to capitalize when Elizabethtown's keeper initially stopped a shot on net, but the ball shot back out to the top of the box. Janse Schermerhorn collected the rebound and offered his own try on goal, which was deflected by Jason Tonelli underneath for his fourth of the season.
Just 11 minutes later, a long pass from Okolie barely past midfield hit Chase TenBrook in stride, who fired a shot from 15 yards out that found the bottom-right corner of the net, giving the Diplomats a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
Okolie needed just six minutes into the second half to get in on the scoring himself, working his defender over near the end line, using his trademark footwork and sending a low shot past the Blue Jays' goalkeeper.
Trailing by a 3-0 score, Elizabethtown pulled within two less than a minute later off a well-placed freekick. However, TenBrook answered with his second of the game and fifth of the season in the 59th minute, when a Ben Draheim cross from the right side deflected off a defender and was rebounded by the senior forward to make it 4-1.
The Blue Jays tallied another score in the 65th minute to make it a two-goal game, however failed to threaten for the remainder of the evening as F&M held on for the win.
Trevor Britton (6-0) earned the victory for the Diplomats with three saves through 90 minutes, while Elizabethtown's Rodrigo Barrera (5-1) suffered the loss with four goals allowed off eight shots on net.
F&M led in shots at 17-9, including an 11-3 margin in the first. Corners also belonged to the Diplomats at 4-1. Conor Pellas, Tonelli and TenBrook all tallied three shots for F&M, while Matt Fevre paced Elizabethtown with three of his own.
Centennial Conference (CC) play kicks off for the Diplomats on Saturday when Swarthmore heads to Lancaster for a 1:00 p.m. matchup.
