Fourth NE10 Title for Franklin Pierce in Program History.
RINDGE, N.H. - For the first time since 2011, the Franklin Pierce men's soccer team stands atop the Northeast-10 Conference. The No. 4 nationally ranked Ravens claimed the fourth NE10 crown in program history (2006, 2010, 2011) on Saturday night at Sodexo Field, with a 2-1 win over No. 23 American International, on the strength of a pair of goals just 2:56 apart early in the second half.
With the win, the top-seeded Ravens improve to 19-1-0 and have won five straight, while AIC falls to 14-4-1, with two of the four losses coming at Franklin Pierce. The win also gave Franklin Pierce the NE10's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Championship, while AIC will await word on a potential at-large bid. The NCAA will announce the tournament field on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
After a lightning delay of nearly an hour at the start, the first half was mostly quiet, with both teams finding their legs and feeling each other out. Graduate student Jonas Cervera Anchel nearly broke the deadlock for the Ravens in the 27th minute, as his shot would be the first to pose a test to either keeper and forced a diving save out of AIC graduate student Ioannis Iatroudis. That half would end goalless, with shots showing 9-2 (4-1 on target) in favor of the Ravens.
The second half began with both sides showing more promise moving forward. The Ravens came out swinging and forced a pair of saves out of Iatroudis.
The deadlock would finally break in the 53rd minute. Freshman Braudilio Rodrigues would pick his defender's pocket on the touchline, cut inside, and curl the ball into the top right corner, with a shot which left the keeper glued to his spot. Just under three minutes later, in the 56th, graduate student Carlos Ferrando Felis would add an insurance marker for the Ravens, as he headed home a free kick from freshman Vicente Valor Martinez.
American International would earn one back through Mathis Pilon St. Louis in the 61st minute, to cap off a stretch of three goals in a span of 7:55. The freshman latched onto a pass from graduate student Dirk Doppen and beat junior Kosta Maniatis with power from inside the 18-yard box.
The run of goals seemed poised to continue, but Franklin Pierce settled the game down and began to control possession, while bleeding precious time off the clock. A 70th-minute shot from freshman Love Lindborg, point blank and right down the middle, would be the Yellow Jackets' final threat of the evening.
Maniatis (16-1-0) finished with three saves against four shots to pick up the win for Franklin Pierce. Iatroudis (1-1-0) made five stops against seven shots and suffered the loss in front of the AIC net.
Franklin Pierce senior Yanai Sayag was named the Elite 24 Award winner, after earning a 3.99 GPA as a psychology major. The Elite 24 honors the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the finals site of each NE10 Championship.
-Release provided by Franklin Pierce athletic communications-
ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Braudilio Rodrigues, Franklin Pierce*
Antonio Santos Ferreira, Franklin Pierce
Rodrigo Vaza, Franklin Pierce
Dirk Doppen, AIC
Salim Yussif, AIC
Oskar Aastroem, Saint Rose
Jannik Mohr, SNHU
*Most Outstanding Player
ELITE 24 AWARD
Yanai Sayag, Franklin Pierce
NE10 Men's Soccer Championship
Saturday, November 6th
Quarterfinals – at Higher Seeds
Match 1: #1 Franklin Pierce 5, #8 Southern Connecticut 0
Match 2: #2 American International 3, #7 New Haven 2
Match 3: #3 Saint Rose 3, #6 Le Moyne 2 (2OT)
Match 4: #4 Southern New Hampshire 1, #5 Adelphi 0
Wednesday, November 10th
Semifinals - at Higher Seeds
Match 5: #1 Franklin Pierce 2, #4 Southern New Hampshire 1 (OT)
Match 6: #2 American International 1, #3 Saint Rose 0
Saturday, November 13th
Championship – at Highest Seed
Match 7: #1 Franklin Pierce 2, #2 American International 1
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
