Women’s Soccer Team Falls to Franklin & Marshall
(David Sinclair/Gettysburg Athletics)
By Max Ferguson, Staff Writer
On the night before Halloween, The Franklin and Marshall Diplomats rode into Clark Field to face off against the Bullets in a home soccer game. Heading into the game, Franklin and Marshall were heavily favored to win. The Diplomats currently stand in third place in the Centennial Conference women’s soccer rankings.
Overall, the Diplomats maintained a 7-4-6 record. In conference play, Franklin and Marshall have only lost to one team, boasting a 5-1-3 conference record. The Bullets have not had the same success this season. Overall, the Bullets are 2-10-3. Against centennial conference opponents, Gettysburg is 1-6-2. Nevertheless, records are merely numbers on paper. The values for each column in a teams record are completely arbitrary. What truly matters is the story behind how each value was added to each column and this game was no different.
The Bullets went out into the game with a chip on their shoulders. The first half was completely gridlocked with both teams looking even for the entirety of the 45 minutes of play. The Bullets were playing aggressively, after a corner kick came off a foul from Petra Brown ’26, the Bullets moved the ball downfield 42 seconds later and Zoe Want ’25 shot on goal.
Want would go on to lead the Bullets offensive campaign this game with three shots on goal. The first half as a whole was a defensive showdown. Collectively, both teams only shot four times. As the 45th minute came, the score was still unchanged from the opening kickoff.
The second half was gearing up to look like the same defensive showdown as the first. Gettysburg was staying neck and neck with the Diplomats. However, in minute 58, Zoe Warne of Franklin and Marshall shot the ball on what would be the lone goal of this match. Aside from the one that got past the keeper, Gettysburg continued to fight on.
Alex Jurow ’27 made three saves in the goal and the Bullets outside of the net were still making every effort to keep the ball away. As the 90th minute hit and the game went final, Franklin & Marshall walked away with a 1 – nil win on the road.
As mentioned, the numbers in the columns of a team’s records are purely arbitrary. Behind each numerical value is a much more compelling story that tells much more about a team than any number ever could.
Even while fighting uphill battles all season, the Bullets went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the conference for a whole ninety minutes, an effort that should be commended. Even if the match didn’t go their way, there’s still positives in every loss.
This Bullets team boasts a young roster with a high ceiling. On Saturday, the Bullets ended their season away at Ursinus where they tied the bears with two scores apiece. This final matchup did not affect the Bullets’ chances at obtaining a playoff bid. Even if they aren’t competing for the centennial conference championship this year, the young talent on this roster will definitely develop over the offseason. Add to that what should hopefully be a strong recruiting class and the Bullets are primed for a strong season next year.
