LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team earned a hard-fought point in the Centennial Conference standings with a 1-1 draw against Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. F&M found itself trailing after conceding a goal in the 15th minute, but answered just over 20 minutes later with a goal from Nico Gonzalez.
The Diplomats finished the week with results in both of their Centennial Conference matches after picking up a win at Washington College on Wednesday. Dickinson (5-4-2, 2-0-2 CC) entered the match unbeaten in Centennial Conference play and held a 23-9 advantage in shots, but eight saves from Diego Moreno helped secured F&M's point.
Despite the Red Devils ultimately striking first, it was the Diplomats who threatened early as leading scorer Nico Palacios hit the post just over five minutes into the contest. The visiting Red Devils earned five corner kick attempts during the first 15 minutes of the match. F&M was successful in defending those attempts until Darian Crim got on the end of a pass from Patrick McCune to make the score 1-0. Bolstered by that early advantage in corner kick attempts, the Red Devils would finish the contest with an 8-3 edge in that category.
Finding itself in a 1-0 deficit, the Diplomats began to gain some traction in the attacking third midway through the opening half. F&M recorded six shots during the first 45 minutes and was rewarded for those persistent efforts when defender Nico Gonzalez scored just his second career goal – and first since his sophomore season – during the 37th minute.
After making three saves during the opening half, Moreno found himself under a little more pressure during the second but did not falter as he stopped all five shots on goal that he faced during the remaining time. Dickinson finished the game with a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal, with Vahe Kassabian getting the Diplomats' look at goal during the 55th minute of second half action.
Men's soccer will now have a week to prepare for its next Centennial Conference match which comes on Saturday, October 10 in Gettysburg. That clash with the Bullets is set for a 4 p.m. start.
