Ravens reach Final Four for second
time, first since 1991, with 3-2 decision in penalty shootout over
#12 New York Institute of Technology after two sides play to 1-1
draw
RINDGE, N.H. (November 19,
2005) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 15 in the final
regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, will make its second trip to the
final four (first since 1991) after posting a 3-2 decision over No.
12 New York Institute of Technology after the two sides played to a
1-1 double-overtime draw in quarterfinal round action of the NCAA
Division II Men's Soccer Championship at Sodexho Field tonight.
Franklin Pierce (15-5-5) advances
to the National Semifinal for the second time in program history
after also reaching the final four in 1991. The Ravens will face
No. 4-ranked SIU-Edwardsville, a 1-0 victor over No. 6
Carson-Newman (Tenn.) University tonight in Illinois, on Friday,
December 2, at a time to be determined on Monday. Midwestern State
University, in Wichita Falls, Texas, is host for the semifinals and
championship. NYIT sees its season come to a close with a 14-3-5
overall record.
"(Franklin Pierce) is a very, very
good team," said NYIT head coach Carlos Del
Cid. "We played No. 9 (Lynn) and No. 3 (Dowling) and
they are the best team we've seen all year. (Joyce) and (Guimaraes)
are two excellent players. They deserved to advance
tonight."
The men will join the Franklin
Pierce women's team in Texas as the two teams have reached the
semifinal round for the first time in school history in the same
year. The women earned their Division II record 13th
final four berth in 14 years with a 2-1 victory over No. 5 West
Chester (Pa.) University at Sodexho Field earlier this afternoon.
"With a first class facility like
(Sodexho Field) it's up to the coaches to make it happen," said
Franklin Pierce head coach Marco Koolman.
"President (George) Hagerty and (athletic director) Bruce Kirsh
have given us the opportunity and it's our responsibility to make
it pay off. It's a great thing for the College."
Sophomore goalkeeper
James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton
Academy) stopped two NYIT penalty kicks in the
shootout after registering three saves during the 110-minutes of
play. Thorpe anticipated senior Christian Caines
(Trinidad & Tobago) on the Bears second attempt
with a save to the left side, then stopped freshman Dan
Goldberg (Haifa, Israel) in the fifth round to his
left to seal the Ravens final four berth.
"I'm so used to (penalty kicks)
now," said Thorpe. "This is my fourth time with them and it's just
my second year. On the first save, I saw him look to my left and
just gambled that he wouldn't change his mind. PK's are the worst
way to win and the worst way to lose."
The match pitted the top two
scorers in Division II in Franklin Pierce All-American
Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) and
NYIT senior Peter Antoniades (London,
England). Joyce netted the Ravens lone goal off a
NYIT turnover, while the Ravens defensive unit limited Antoniades
to one shot in the match. Antoniades also pulled his penalty
attempt in the third round of the shootout wide to the left
side.
Joyce opened the scoring when he
collected a defensive turnover deep in the NYIT defensive end and
fired a low shot into the left corner from just inside the top of
the 18 at 33:02. The goal was his DII-leading 28th of
the season - now just one shy of the program's single-season record
of 29 set by former two-time All-American Bojan Vuckovic in 1992.
"We always knew it was going to be
a hard match tonight," said Joyce. "It's a credit to the team, we
have a lot of character and a lot of pride and it showed tonight."
New York Tech forced overtime with
an equalizer with just 4:24 left in regulation. Caines collected a
loose ball, took a couple of touches, then fired a low drive into
the lower right corner that looked to have been slightly deflected
in the 86th minute.
"We played a 4-4-2 formation to
keep the score at 1-0," said Del Cid. "Then we switched to 3-4-3
after halftime so we could attack more. It didn't matter if we lost
one, two or three to zero."
Both sides had chances in the two
overtime sessions. Franklin Pierce junior back Bisharra
Ettienne (Queens, N.Y./Dominica State College) nearly
ended the match with a toe-poke inside the six during a scramble
off a corner kick 3:13 into the first overtime, but Caines cleared
the ball off the line with the keeper stuck out of position. Thorpe
was well positioned for a catch save on an Antoniades header from
eight yards out in the 99th minute.
Freshman goalkeeper
Harris Smiler (Alameda, Calif./Alameda)
made three saves in goal for NYIT.
"This is a very tough thing," said
Del Cid. "We have ten seniors, which is my first recruiting class,
who will graduate. But we have a good group of players who will be
back that we will build around for the future."
While Franklin Pierce is making its
first trip to the final four since 1991, Koolman will be making his
fourth trip - his second as a coach. Koolman was a member of two
Golden Knight squads that reached the national semifinals in 1989
and 1990, and then led his alma mater to the final four in his
third season as head coach in 1993.
"A season is a journey," said
Koolman. "Everyone forgets we had to replace three graduated
midfielders with three freshman and it took a while for us to find
ourselves. I credit every individual on this team, this is such a
special group with so much leadership and character. All of the
credit goes to them."
MATCH
STATISTICS
