Men’s soccer suffered two major upsets against Centennial Conference leader Swarthmore and underdog Franklin & Marshall over the last two weeks. The Red Devils were crushed 4-0 by the Diplomats while only losing 2-1 to their more seemingly competitive opponent. The losses drop Dickinson to #24 in the d3soccer.com poll. Fortunately, they faired well against Muhlenberg and finished with a final score of 1-0. Outside the conference, Dickinson defeated Eastern Mennonite 3-0 for its tenth win of the season.

Last Saturday, Oct. 26, the Diplomats brought the intensity to Miller field. They were able to hold off Dickinson’s 9 attempts on goal and keep the pressure high on the field. Red Devils’ goalie Reed Milbrath ’15 made 3 saves, however, it wasn’t enough to keep F&M from taking the win. Their pressure and fire allowed them to beat the defense and go 1-1 to goal in addition to their penalty kick opportunities.

Dickinson had a much stronger match against Swarthmore, and were first to strike the net on Oct. 19. Derek Kachadurian ’14 tallied the sole goal for the game just two minutes into the game. It was not long before the Garnet answered with two more goals in order pull out the win. Swathmore had the advantage in shots, however, the Red Devils had multiple free-kicks that could have been taken advantage of. The defense had an extremely strong game and only allowed three shots on goaltender Jeremy Palcan ’17.

Last Wednesday, Oct. 23, Milbrath goaltended against the Mules in a close-call match. The mid-field play was extremely physical and both teams struggled to capitalize on their opportunities. Both defensive teams did a solid job in addition to amazing saves by both goaltenders. Alfred Hylton-Dei ’16 and Danny Sheppard ’17 both played with fire and determination; however, it was Kachadurian in the 86th minute that struck the net off Hylton-Dei and Sheppard deflection to pull the win.

The Red Devils had a standard “Thriller at Miller” against Eastern Mennonite University on October 15. Javier Mena ’14 scored in the first twenty minutes after collecting a loose ball. Kachadurian followed suite in the end of the first half in order to post a 2-0 lead going into halftime. Most of the second half was controlled by Dickinson, yet the team had more difficulty finishing their plays. It was George Naranjo ’15, with just under two minutes left, who found the net and tacked on the third and final goal of the game. Dickinson had an enormous advantage in shots, 32-10, and solid defense and goaltending.

The last regular season game of the season will take place this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. when Washington College visits Miller Field.