GETTSYBURG, Pa. – Jeremy Shapiro (Leonia, NJ/Fieldston School) scored a pair of goals, including the gamewinner, as Gettysburg came back from a one goal deficit to down Franklin & Marshall 6-1 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's soccer action on Saturday.

    The victory improves the Bullets' record to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play, and keeps Gettysburg in the hunt for the CC championship.

    Mike Bevilacqua (Marshfield, MA/Thayer Academy) notched a goal and an assist while leading with seven of the Bullets 26 shots.  Nick LaPorta (Chevy Chase, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) and Steve Kopp (Upper Montclair, NJ/Montclair) combined for four saves in the Gettysburg net while seeing 13 Diplomat (9-7, 5-3) shots.

    Despite facing a stiff wind, Gettysburg quickly started the attack with a booming shot by James Miller (Redlands, CA/Redlands) from the penalty hash, 3:36 into the game.  Diplomat goalie Chris Milano, who recorded nine often-impressive saves in the contest, made an exceptional diving stop to keep the Bullets out of the net.

    Less than ten minutes later Joe Rice (Wyomissing Hills, PA/Wyomissing) took another go at the F&M cage, only to find the post picking up where Milano left off.

    Gaining their legs, and the momentum from the driving wind, the Diplomats raced to the opposite end of the field only to have an apparent goal by Eric Marshall pulled back out with the call that plagued the visitors the entire first half; offsides.  Keeping the assault alive, Matt Shapiro let loose with a shot that grazed the outside netting and Tim Marino slotted the ball just wide of the cage before leading scorer Scott Runyon redirected a Wes Gauthier shot past LaPorta at the 27:16 mark.

    With the start of the second half, the lead changed as quickly as the wind advantage.  A mere 46 seconds after play resumed, Will Hohman (Landenberg, PA/St. Marks) booted home the equalizer off an assist from Mike McLaughlin (Swampscott, MA/Northfield Mt. Hermon).

    Four an a half minutes after that J. Shapiro touched off a free-kick that bend twice on its way to the back of the net, pushing the Bullets ahead to stay and garnering the senior captain his sixth gamewinner of the season.

    Andrew Addonizio (Cutchogue, NY/Mattituck) was the next battlefielder to find the net, converting his second goal of the season off an assist from Bevilacqua at 58:43.  Two minutes later Cameron MacLean (Riverside, CT/Greenwich, Folsom) set up J. Shapiro's second goal of the contest to give the Bullets the 4-1 lead.

    After a brief lull in the action, Bevilacqua reinitiated the Gettysburg assault and let loose with a rocket from 30 yards out, notching his fifth goal of the year.  Clayton Krum (Hellertown, PA/Moravian Academy) rounded out the home-team's scoring at the 77:35 mark, slotting a pass from Michael Sarbaugh (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown).

    The Bullets return to action on Wednesday, November 1 when they travel to Centennial Conference rival Johns Hopkins.  Game time is 7:00 p.m.
 
 

Shots: F&M 13, G 26. Corner Kicks: F&M 4, G 9. Fouls: F&M 13, G 9. Goalie Saves: F&M 9 (Chris Milano), G 4 (Nick LaPorta 1, Steve Kopp 3; entered the game with 24 minutes left).