!!NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!
Franklin Pierce Defeats #16 Lincoln Memorial
for First Men’s Soccer National Championship
Clifton’s 89th-minute winner the difference in 1-0 victory over Railsplitters
Provided By Franklin Pierce University Sports
Information
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (December 2, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce
University men’s soccer team captured its first NCAA Division
II National Championship in program history with a 1-0 victory over
16th-ranked Lincoln Memorial University (Tenn.) at the Orange Beach
Sportsplex this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (17-2-4) claims the sixth National Championship in
University history, adding to its five women’s soccer
national championships in the mid-to-late 1990’s. The Ravens
first men’s title comes in the program’s third Final
Four appearance and after they were national runners up in 2005.
Lincoln Memorial University (20-4-1) saw its quest for its first
national championship come up just short after making its
second-straight Final Four appearance and first title match.
“The one thing we stress in this program is that we can all
be great players that you need personality and character,”
said Franklin Pierce Head Coach Marco Koolman. “I think in
those last two areas, these seniors have passed along that message
to anyone who joined the program. I’m just so happy for these
players, our University and alumni.”
Grad student David Clifton (London, England) earned Most Outst
anding Offensive Player honors of the Final Four as he netted the
lone goal of the match with just 1:50 to play in regulation. He
took a pass on the right channel from junior Frantz Francois
(Saint-Marc, Haiti/Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.)) and chipped a shot over
LMU senior goalkeeper Brent Cole (Knoxville, Tenn.) and into the
upper left corner of the net for his NCAA Division II record ninth
goal of the Tournament.
“[The goal] happened so fast, I just tried to lift it over
and it went in,” said Clifton. “It’s really nice
to break records, but it's most satisfying to win as a team and
represent the University.”
Clifton, who broke the Division II record for career tournament
goals with ten, scored Franklin Pierce’s last eight goals of
the season and nine of the Ravens 11 markers in the NCAA
Tournament. He capped his season with 25 goals and three assists
for 53 points.
“In a game like this it takes scoring one more goal than the
opposition,” said Koolman. “It was very much an
appropriate goal for David to score.”
Senior All-America goalkeeper James Thorpe (East Longmeadow,
Mass./Bridgton Academy) was forced to make just one save to
preserve the championship victory and his 12th shutout of the
season to earn Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors for the
Final Four. The shutout was the 49th of his four-year career
– just one shy of the Division II record of 50 set by former
Southern Connecticut State University All-American Bo Oshoniyi in
the early 1990’s.
Thorpe also broke the NCAA all-division record for minutes played
by a goalkeeper less than six minutes into the contest. His
8,391:11 career minutes played surpass the previous collegiate
record of 8,306 set by Steve McCullough, who played for UNC
Ashville and Marquette from 1991-94.
Joining Clifton and Thorpe on the All-Tournament team were
Francois and senior backs Michel Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College
de Maisonneuve) and Bisharra Ettienne (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Dominica
State College).
Lincoln Memorial posted a 12-7 advantage in shots for the match,
but placed just one shot on target. The Ravens had two shots on
goal and enjoyed the better run of play and scoring chances all
afternoon.
“Our sport is so unforgiving sometimes it makes no
sense,” said Lincoln Memorial Head Coach Helio D’Anna.
“We live in a reality where not necessarily possessing,
out-possessing, out-shooting our out-doing anything guarantees
anything. Franklin Pierce is a great team, but we feel we did what
it took to win the game. That’s soccer and that’s why
we love this game.”
Cole finished with one save for LMU, that coming less than four
minutes into the contest when he charged off his line to stop a
drive by junior Marek Hawrylik (Olztyn, Poland/The Winchendon
(Mass.) School) from point-blank range after a nice give-and-go
with Clifton.
“I think we struggled in the first half,” said
Koolman. “Part of it was nerves and some players not
realizing what was at stake. Part of that we set straight at
halftime and made some tactical changes.”
Franklin Pierce had a couple of tense moments leading up to
Clifton’s winner. Thorpe had a corner kick slip through his
hands and fall to the feet of a Lincoln Memorial player at the far
post, but the scramble only produced a shot that flipped up over
the crossbar. Thorpe was also fooled by a free kick from 40-yards
out by senior Guilherme Alves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) that got
over his head but caromed off the left post in the 65th minute.
”I kind of cheated off my line and forgot about the
wind,” said Thorpe. “When he hit it I realized it was
over my head. When it hit the post, I was shocked and luckily it
didn’t go in.”
The second LMU chance came just moments after Francois produced
Franklin Pierce’s best chance aside from the goal in the
match. He worked a give-and-go with Clifton and broke in one-on-one
with Cole, deking the keeper to produce an open net, but could only
put the ball off the side netting from a tight angle on the left
channel.
“For everyone involved in the program, it’s been a long
hard battle, but I am proud, happy, and delighted for our school,"
said Koolman. "It’s great and wonderful to be the national
champions."