Oct. 24, 2009

Box Score

LANCASTER, PA - For the fifth straight meeting, Johns Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall battled in overtime on Saturday night in Centennial Conference men's soccer action. The Blue Jays, who finished in a tie for the second straight game, are now 12-2-2 on the season and 5-1-1 in the conference. The Diplomats are now 8-5-2 and 4-2-1 in the Centennial.

Junior Scott Bukoski (Sagamore, MA/Bourne) got the Blue Jays on the board early, scoring in just the fifth minute. Senior Max Venker (Oldsmar, FL/Palm Harbor University High) sent a nice pass to Bukoski, who eluded F&M goalie Zach Zamek, and scored his team-best 13th goal of the season. The Diplomats answered in the 37th minute to knot the game at 1-1. Matt Melino's corner kick went to Shawn Ganow, whose shot found the upper right corner. That would be all the scoring through regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, despite the Blue Jays outshooting the Diplomats, 26-8, over the final 73 minutes.

The series between Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall has been a tightly contested one in recent years. Twelve of the last 13 meetings have been decided by one or fewer goals, with seven of those going to overtime. The Blue Jays are 9-1-3 against the Diplomats during that stretch.

Bukoski's goal now gives him 95 career points, moving him into sixth place all-time in JHU history. He is just five points shy of becoming only the fifth player in program history to reach 100 career points.

Senior Ravi Gill (Morganville, NJ/Marlboro) finished with eight saves for the Blue Jays. Ganow's goal in the 37th minute snaps Gill's scoreless streak of 355:31. For the Diplomats, Zamek also posted eight saves.

Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday, October 28 as Gettysburg visits Homewood Field. The Centennial Conference tilt is slated to begin at 4:00 pm. It is the final regular season home game for JHU and the Blue Jays will honor their seniors prior to the game.