LANCASTER, Pa. - In the 76th all-time meeting between historic rivals at Tylus Field on the Franklin & Marshall Campus, the Haverford College men's soccer team (3-7-5, 1-4-2 CC) battled for 90 minutes but eventually fell to the No. 19 Diplomats (10-1-4, 5-0-2 CC) by a 1-0 final on Tuesday evening. Dylan Ioffreda made nine saves, but a second-half strike from Adam Green gave the Diplomats the game-winning goal in the 57th minute of action.
Haverford came out firing, with a shot just 39 seconds into action as Paul-Andre Coulibaly notched one on target in the first minute. Haverford went on the defensive to keep F&M off the scoreboard early, fending off some early offensive salvos from the hosts, who earned a trio of corners in the first 15 minutes. Brian Lorenz and Coulibaly helped set the offense for Haverford, but had shots blocked in the first 25 minutes before Caleb Miller and Liam O'Malley fired wide of the goal frame. A few more attempts on frame from the Diplomats were handled with poise by Ioffreda, and Conrad Coyanda-Parkzes put a shot attempt on target in the 37th minute before the two sides entered the halftime break.
Ultimately, the teams were deadlocked at 0-0 entering intermission, with the hosts holding a slight edge in shots at 7-6. The Diplomats looked strong immediately out of the second half gates, keeping the ball in their attacking third as Jordan Samuels and Green each got looks on target before Green collected the ball near the end line following a change of possession near midfield and made a turn towards goal with some nice footwork to evade the Haverford back-line, firing towards the far post with an angled shot to record his first goal of the season.
F&M added a flurry of shots that Haverford was able to deal with deftly, as Green hit the post in the stretch, while Cyrus Nasseri joined the list of Fords with shots on frame in the latter minutes of the contest. Ultimately, the hosts turned on the jets offensively in the second half, with 17 shots while the Fords collected five.
At the finish, Franklin & Marshall held a 24-11 edge in shots, and helped support its offensive presence in the attacking third with 10 corner kicks. Shay Adamson was an integral part of keeping that rhythm going, with six shots, including four on target as Ioffreda denied Adamson on four occasions.
Haverford now returns to action at home on Saturday against Gettysburg (3:30 p.m.), as the Fords will host Senior Day on Walton Field. Prior to the start of game action, Haverford will honor the senior class of 2023, a grouping that includes Coulibaly, Matt Heim, Luca Mello, Liam O'Malley, Meinhardt Rentrup, Andrew Stephens, and Ben Ward.