Jensen's 82nd minute goal sends Golden Lions to third Final Four berth in four years 

OAKDALE, N.Y. (November 21, 2004) - Dowling College, ranked No. 4 in the final regular season NSCAA/adidas Division II poll, used a late goal to post a 1-0 victory over Franklin Pierce and advance to the NCAA Division II Final Four for the third time in four years in quarterfinal round action at the St. John's Eastern Campus this afternoon. 

Dowling (17-1-5) will face the winner of today's late afternoon match between No. 8 College of the Incarnate Word (Texas), and No. 1-ranked Seattle University in a semifinal match on Friday, December 3, in Wichita Falls, Texas. Franklin Pierce (16-6-2) was participating in its first NCAA Quarterfinal match since 1995 and seeking to return to the Final Four for the first time since 1991. 

Senior forward Morten Jensen (Tanager, Norway) took advantage of a brief lapse in the Franklin Pierce defense and scored the lone goal of the match at 81:38. Jensen collected a loose ball just inside the penalty area and fired a low shot from the right side into the lower left corner of the net. 

The goal came just moments after Franklin Pierce sophomore back Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga, Ontario/York University) stopped a shot from Dowling sophomore Shane Blanchard (Castries, Saint Lucia) off the line after a scramble on a Jensen corner kick. 

Franklin Pierce rebounded from a first half in which it was out-shot, 5-1, and created some good scoring opportunities in the second stanza. The Ravens had some good buildup midway through the half, with freshman Gijs Roodbeen (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) having a shot tipped just wide by Dowling freshman goalkeeper Neal Kitson (Little Neck, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo) that forced the first of two corner kicks in quick succession in the 67th minute. 

Grad student Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) blasted a loose ball just inside the top of the 18 that deflected off a Golden Lions defender to force the second corner, from which Dowling finally cleared the pressure. 

After Dowling scored, the Ravens threw everyone forward and produced some late bids. Grad student Tom McNeil (Paisley, Scotland) had header tipped wide by Kitson to force the first of three-straight corner kicks. McNeil had another shot off a kick, just miss wide with just under a minute left in regulation, but Dowling was able to kill the clock from there. 

"I thought we could have gotten one there," said senior back Troy McColl (Sydney, Australia). "To their credit, their defense held up and we just couldn't get one past them today." 

Franklin Pierce freshman goalkeeper James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) finished with two saves, while Kitson preserved his fifth shutout of the season with a pair of stops. 

Dowling finished the match with a 13-7 advantage in shots, but just 8-7 over the final 45-minutes, with the Ravens withstanding the Golden Lions physical approach (four first-half cautions - five total). 

"We were on the verge of falling off the cliff and couple weeks ago," said Franklin Pierce Head Coach Marco Koolman. "It's a credit to the boys. I have nothing but praise for them and the effort they put in this season."

MATCH STATISTICS