Red Devils Lose Double-OT Heartbreaker

Isaac Pitkow ’16 (left), Drew Carneal ’15 (right) and the men’s soccer team lost Centennial Conference Championship game to F&M in double overtime, 2-1
Isaac Pitkow ’16 (left), Drew Carneal ’15 (right) and the men’s soccer team lost Centennial Conference Championship game to F&M in double overtime, 2-1

The Red Devils fell just short of a Centennial Conference Championship last Saturday when they lost to Franklin & Marshall 2-1 in double overtime. In the first two rounds of the tournament, they defeated Johns Hopkins and Haverford, 2-1 and 2-0, respectively. Although they were unable to claim the conference title, they advance to the NCAA Division III tournament with an at-large bid. Dickinson will host Susquehanna on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5:00 p.m.

In the championship game, F&M scored in the twenty-eighth minute after multiple strong attempts on net. Early on, Ned Wagner ’16 played solid defense and was able to stop a close shot to keep the Diplomats off the board.

Dickinson’s Jamie Martin ’14 responded with an attempt on goal that fell just short of the right post. Javier Mena ’14 and Alfred Hylton-Dei ’16 attempted shots right after. Mena redirected a ball with a header to Hylton-Dei, something that was extremely hard to accomplish with the high winds. He quickly rocketed the ball towards the net, and Martin tried to collect the rebound but instead collided with the goalkeeper and drew a card.

In the beginning of the second half, the Diplomats had possession of the ball and had a great shot on net. Again, Wagner cleared the ball on the goal line after a bumpy patch of grass allowed it to pass the goaltender.

The Red Devils maintained possession for most of the second half, however, were unsuccessful with several attempts on goal. With less than twelve minutes to go, Dickinson finally capitalized on an opportunity when Danny Sheppard ’17 headed in an assist from Austin Thames ’17.

The first overtime was marked by Derek Kachadurian’s ’14 red card for an aggressive attempt to collect the ball that led to a collision with an F&M player.

Due to the red card, Dickinson played the second overtime with one man down. The Diplomats quickly took advantage of the situation and created multiple plays to keep the goaltender and defenders on their feet. At 1:08.31, F&M knocked in a corner kick to win the conference championship.

The Diplomats held only a slight advantage in shots (15-12) while Dickinson held the advantage in corners (5-4). They end the CC post-season with an overall record of 14-5-1.

Against Haverford, Kachardurian netted both goals to earn the team a spot in the finals. He finishes the season with the highest points and assists in the Centennial Conference and is the fourth highest goal scorer. Jeremy Palcan ’17 started this game in the goal and posted a shutout.

Dickinson had a strong initial post season match-up against rival Blue Jays, whom they defeated 2-1. Palcan had another solid game, as did Martin, Hylton-Dei and Isaac Pitkow ’16 who scored in the first two minutes. Drew Carneal ’15 posted a goal, which struck in the upper right hand corner of the net.