Looking to get the 2010 season off on the right foot, the F&M men’s soccer team did just that Friday night as they welcomed Fredonia State to Tylus Field.
Looking to get the 2010 season off on the right foot, the F&M men’s soccer team did just that Friday night as they welcomed Fredonia State to Tylus Field.
Thanks to goals by Ben Beaver ’14 and Rob Hassler ’12, F&M put the visiting Blue Devils on ice, securing a 2-0 win to open the season.
The win was particularly important for goalkeeper Zach Zemak ’11, who posted his 18th career shutout, tying the mark set by Ed Stelz ’06 and Eric Brief ’82.
With the first half playing out relatively quietly through the first 25 minutes, Beaver broke the scoring drought by depositing a corner kick into the upper-left corner of the net, giving the Dips a 1-0 lead. Beaver’s tiebreaker was followed by another prolonged scoring drought, one that wasn’t broken until the 89th minute when Hassler blew past three Blue Devils defenders and snuck the ball past the goalie into the bottom-right corner of the net.
The 2-0 win over Fredonia State was the decisive opening win that the Diplomats were looking for coming off a season where F&M was bounced in the opening round of the Centennial Conference playoffs by Dickinson. Over the past five seasons, the Dips have dropped only five matches when playing at home. Friday night’s win over Fredonia State continued a stretch of dominance at home that is unmatched by most other teams around the country.
“You know, I can say that it’s pretty simple: if we play in Lancaster, we expect to win,” head coach Dan Wagner said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, there’s an expectation that we win the game, and if not then it’s at least a draw.”
F&M, which has had several good seasons after being ranked in the top ten in the nation during the 2007 season, is looking to use its home dominance to help propel it into contention in the Centennial Conference, which is shaping up to be one of the best conferences in the nation.
“The Centennial Conference has, with us involved in it, five teams that can be considered top-twenty, top-thirty teams. Thus, we are the best conference in the country,” Wagner said. “So it’s a dog fight. Every year it’s a dog fight, but I’d say that this is a high year for the Centennial.”
While Wagner believes that his team has the potential to compete in a stacked Centennial Conference field, he also believes that his team could be overlooked as the season progresses.
One aspect of its game that the team will need to address if they are hoping to remain in the running for the Centennial Conference title is the lack of scoring that the Dips have experienced in the past several seasons.
F&M runs a possession-oriented offensive system, but Wagner thinks that his team will need to become much more comfortable scoring if they are going to get over the hump and be able to compete with the best teams in the conference. He added that a fast start would help his team build the momentum necessary to put themselves right in the thick of the Centennial Conference race.
“This is a team which is not used to scoring goals,” Wagner said. “We have got to get used to scoring goals. Soccer is a very streaky game, and we just need to get out of the gates well and get some momentum going, and that will help us a lot.”
While Friday’s win over Fredonia State certainly provided the Dips with a solid start to their young season, Saturday night’s contest against visiting Hobart proved that soccer is indeed a streaky game. After leading the game briefly 1-0 following a goal by Eric Elicker ’12, the Dips were never able to regain control of the game, allowing the Statesmen to find the back of the net six consecutive times, producing a final score of 6-1 in favor of Hobart.
Despite the difficult loss, F&M still finds itself standing at 1-1 on the young season with a chance to push itself back in to the win column next weekend when the team travels to Rutgers-Camden. This past weekend was just the first step of many in a 2010 season that will likely produce many ups and downs throughout the course of the season.
One thing to keep in mind as F&M makes its way through a difficult schedule is that the Dips could put together an excellent season and make the conference playoffs, but their excellence may not be reflected in the standings.
“We would love to win the Centennial Conference,” Wagner said. “I think we are in the running to win the Centennial Conference. But, I think, kind of like being UNC or Duke in the ACC for basketball, we could have an unbelievably great year and not win the Centennial.”
After an up and down opening weekend, it is clear that this team has some improvements to make before they can seriously compete with the better teams on their schedule. However, as the Dips approach their Centennial Conference slate, coach Wagner believes that his team has the tools to smooth out those weaknesses and make a run at the Centennial crown.
“I think that this will be a year where we will be somewhat overlooked, and I think that would be a significant mistake,” Wagner said. “You can overlook us, but you can also know that, if you’re another team, it’s very rare that you ever have won a game in Lancaster, which is something we’re pretty happy about. And I feel like we have every bit as much talent as we need to win a conference championship and to make an NCAA run.”
Franklin Innovation Challenge returns: second annual contest
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Shadek stadium
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Sixers might actually be for real
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Jon Salandra loves winning, dunking
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The Descendants Transcends Book
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Five Movies to See This Semester
Five must see movies to see this semester:
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Rick Santorum, 21st Century Puritan
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Two New Restaurants in Pandini's
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Dining Options Fall Short
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Supreme Court Conservatism
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Weis House Implements New Recycling Program
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Say Nope-A to SOPA
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Marie Antoinette
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