LANCASTER, Pa. – Making its second semifinals appearance in the last three years, the fifth-seeded Gettysburg College men's soccer team put up a strong effort but the Bullets came up short as the nationally-ranked and top-seeded Franklin & Marshall College rattled three second-half goals in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Championship Saturday afternoon.  
 
Final Result

Teams	1	2	F
F&M (16-2)	0	3	3
Gettysburg (11-7-1)	0	0	0

 
Top Performers – Gettysburg
- Oladayo Thomas '22 (Lagos, Nigeria/The Masters [N.Y]) – 4 Shots
- Thomas Keane '20 (Potomac, Md./Gonzaga College) – 4 Saves
 
Top Performers – F&M
- Christian Avila Nere – Goal
- Connor Whitacre – Goal
- Shay Adamson - Goal
- Christopher Amoruso – 4 Saves
 
How It Happened…

• First Half: The first 30 minutes was a defensive showcase as only three shots were taken, two by the Bullets and one from the Diplomats. In the final 15 minutes, the Bullets fired at the net, including back-to-back shots by junior Sam Lerman (Wayzata, Minn./Field School) and a header by senior Ezekiel Omosanya (Lagos, Nigeria/Northfield Mount Hermon [Mass.]), but all three were blocked. F&M nearly picked up its first goal before the half as Magnus Parente had a shot blocked, and one hit the crossbar with under two to go.
• Second Half: F&M opened the half with three corner kicks and three shots, two being on goal, but Keane made the crucial stops to keep it scoreless. Thomas and senior Precious Ozoh (Abuja, Nigeria/Holderness School [N.H.]) almost tacked on goals at the 58:26 and 62:11 markers, respectively, as each had great looks, but both sailed wide. Five minutes later, the Diplomats scored as Adamson shot from the top of the box into the top left corner to give F&M the 1-0 lead. F&M spurted two more goals with 78:13 and 80:20 on the clock, respectively, from Avila Nere and Whitacre to boost the advantage 3-0. The Bullets attempted five shots after that with sophomore Connor Fife (Newtown, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep), Thomas, and Omosanya chances being on goal, but Amoruso denied all.   

By the Numbers

• The Bullets outshot F&M 14-13.
• F&M finished with the 8-4 advantage on corner kicks.
• For the second time in three seasons, the Bullets and Diplomats have faced off in the conference semifinals.

Centennial Conference Playoffs

• Top-seeded F&M will play second-seeded Johns Hopkins University on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m. in the championship match.

In the Rankings

• In the third release of the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional ranking, F&M was No. 2 and Gettysburg was No. 6.

Where the Series Stands Now
F&M holds a 48-35-5 lead over the Bullets in the all-time series that stretches all the way back to 1930 and has won the last 12 meetings. Gettysburg last defeated F&M in Lancaster during the 2007 conference semifinals by the final score of 2-1, when the Diplomats were nationally-ranked 11th.
 
Next Up
With the loss, the fifth-seeded Bullets will now hope for an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 11, at 1:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.