GETTYSBURG, Pa. – After falling behind 3-0 early in the match versus Franklin & Marshall, the Gettysburg College men's soccer team rallied with a pair of goals to make it a one-goal match early in the second half.
 
However, the Bullets were unable to find the equalizer as the Diplomats (7-5-2, 5-1-1 CC) edged the Bullets 3-2 in a big Centennial Conference (CC) match Wednesday evening at Clark Field.
 
Gettysburg (11-3, 5-2 CC) entered the night leading the Centennial Conference standings, but now finds itself in third place. Johns Hopkins (5-0-2) moved back into first while F&M slid into second with two conference games remaining for each team.
 
The Bullets outshot the Diplomats 16-12, but Christopher Amoruso made six saves for F&M. Senior Max Karen (Huntington, N.Y./Elwood-John Glenn) stopped three shots for the Bullets.
 
The Dips struck three times over the opening 18 minutes, starting with header from Max Geuder off a free kick in the fourth minute. F&M proceeded to cash in on two more headers, with Ryan Corr converting in the 11th minute off a throw-in and header into the box.
 
Corr capped the visitors' early surge when he headed in another free kick. But that's when the Bullets dug in defensively, shutting out F&M the rest of the way.
 
Sophomore Shane McWilliams (Perry Hall, Md./Loyola Blakefield) put Gettysburg on the scoreboard in the 42nd minute with his first collegiate goal, heading in a long throw-in from senior David Murphy (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) from the right sideline. F&M held a slim 8-7 shot advantage in the opening half and carried a two-goal advantage into the intermission.
 
Gettysburg turned up its offensive pressure in the second half, when it outshot the Dips 9-4. Sophomore Precious Ozoh (Abujah, Nigeria/Holderness School [N.H.]) made it a one-goal game less than two minutes into the period, taking a feed from senior Patrick Santini (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) and blasting in a shot from the top of the box for his first tally of the season and the third of his career.
 
Gettysburg placed four shots on frame over the remainder of the period but was unable to dent Amoruso. His final stop came in the 89th minute, when he punched away a header from sophomore Bobby Weikert (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) over the crossbar, and the Diplomats prevented the Bullets from taking a shot on either of the two ensuing corner kicks.
 
The Bullets return to action on Saturday with a Centennial Conference match at Swarthmore starting at 4 p.m.