Box Score Box Score
LANCASTER, Pa. - Franklin & Marshall's men's soccer team traded blows with Lebanon Valley in a tightly-contested matchup on Tylus Field, but the Diplomats eventually came away with a 3-2 win in their season opener on Saturday afternoon.
F&M improved to 1-0 with the win while the Dutchmen fell to 0-1.
Max Geuder opened the scoring in just the fifth minute of play, placing a header under the crossbar off a Jim Connolly corner kick for the 1-0 edge.
Lebanon Valley took little time to respond, notching the equalizer just 24 seconds later with a chip shot at the top of the box by Rob Hanosek. The 1-1 tie lasted only three minutes as Alex Lalovic took a feed from forward Ugo Okolie, moving around the LVC goalkeeper and sending a strike to the right side of the net to pull F&M in front.
Both defenses settled in to keep the score close, before the Diplomats tacked on in the 59th minute with Connolly's second of the game. Geuder sent a long throw in toward the box that was headed by Okolie over to Connolly for the double assist and the 3-1 F&M lead.
The Dutchmen made it a one-score game in the 67th minute but the Diplomats' defense hung on by limiting LVC's scoring chances in the final 20 minutes.
F&M held a slight edge in shots at 14-10 with Lalovic leading the pack with five. The Diplomats owned corner kicks 8-5.
Sophomore Sebastian Jenkins (1-0) notched two saves in his first win of the year while LVC's Ryan Harding (0-1) came away with three stops.
The Diplomats return home on Monday for a 7:00 p.m. contest against Whitworth.
