Vitulano's 89th minute tally
seals season-opening victory for Ravens
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (August
27, 2004) - Freshman Michel Vitulano (Montreal,
Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) netted an unassisted goal with just
1:34 left in regulation to lift Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 19 in
the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas
Division II preseason poll, to a 2-1 victory over the University of
Bridgeport in non-conference men's soccer action at the
Reebok/Howard Johnson Hotels Autumn Classic, hosted by Southern
Connecticut State University, this evening.
The victory stops a two-year streak
of season-opening losses, including a 4-3 double-overtime setback
to Bridgeport at this same event a year ago, for the
Ravens.
The two sides played through a
scoreless opening half before Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in
the 59th minute when senior Troy McColl
(Sydney, Australia) found grad student
Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) for
his first goal in a Ravens uniform. The two markers helped mark a
successful debut by the Ravens 12 newcomers, six of which appeared
in tonight's tilt.
Bridgeport looked to send the match
to overtime when it equalized in the 85th minute on a
marker from freshman back Randy
Jean-Baptiste, assisted by Avi
Alkotzer.
However, Vitulano avoided the extra
session with his unassisted tally in his collegiate debut in the
89th minute after entering the match following the
Purple Knights equalizer four minutes earlier.
Freshman James Thorpe
(East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) picked up a
win in his collegiate debut with two saves for Franklin Pierce.
Chris Clarke also registered two stops
for Bridgeport.
Franklin Pierce (1-0) returns to
action for Sunday when it battles No. 11 Rollins College at 11 a.m.
Rollins faces No. 10 Southern Connecticut State University in
tonight's second match. Bridgeport (0-1) faces the host Owls on
Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
MATCH
STATISTICS
