Box Score Box Score
LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's No. 4 men's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Montclair St. in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, falling in PKs by a 4-2 tally on Sunday afternoon in Lancaster.
Montclair advances to the NCAA Sweet 16 following the 0-0 2OT draw and moved to 17-4-2, while the Diplomats' season came to a close at 17-3-1.
In the fifth minute of the first half, a set-piece from 30 yards out was sent into the box by Carl Friedrich. A sprinting A.J. Kopacz nearly converted on the early chase with a header on net that narrowly sailed to the left of the goalpost.
Three minutes later, a give-and-go between Shay Adamson and Kopacz in the 18-yard box nearly resulted in a well-executed goal but Montclair's goalkeeper Michael Mejia made a diving stop to his left to keep the contest scoreless.
Christian Avila Neres sent a low through ball to Robert Maze in the 42nd minute, who spun around and fired a close-range shot that sailed high of the crossbar as F&M was forced to settle for a scoreless tie heading into the break.
The Diplomat offense was active in the first half and led in shots by a 12-3 margin, as well as corners at 3-0.
Goalkeeper Sebastian Jenkins came up big in the 61st, punching out a failed clearance attempt that snuck through a pack of defenders in the box.
With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Jenkins made another clutch play storming off his line and nullifying a potential breakaway opportunity by punching the ball out of harm's way.
J.T. Mogan collected a short pass from Dallen Moore with two minutes to go in the first overtime period and launched a shot from 25 yards out that was turned back with a diving stop.
In the second overtime, Jenkins stepped in front of a point-blank shot from five yards outs, deflecting the attempt and forcing penalty shots.
F&M took the early advantage when Kopacz buried a shot in the middle left of the net. Montclair tied it at 1-1 before Mejia made a diving stop to his right on the Diplomats' next attempt. F&M missed wide right on its next try and the Red Hawks went ahead 2-1 with a goal in the middle left of the net.
Max Geuder kept F&M in it with a goal to the bottom right to tie it at 2-2. Montclair landed a dagger into the top-left corner to go ahead 3-2 before the Diplomats saw their final attempt thwarted with a diving stop.
Jenkins (1-0-1) was solid when called upon, collecting one save in 110 minutes of action. Meija (12-4-2) recorded six saves through 110 minutes of play.
F&M led the final shot count at 16-11 and corners at 8-4. Kopacz paced the offensive effort with three shots.
