Top-seeded Ravens to host
eighth-seeded Southern New Hampshire Sunday at 6 p.m.
RINDGE, N.H. (October 25, 2007) – The Franklin
Pierce University men's soccer team, ranked fifth in this
week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, opens defense of its Northeast-10
Conference Tournament title with quarterfinal round action on
Sunday at Sodexho Field.
Top-seeded Franklin Pierce (12-1-3, 11-0-2 NE-10), winners of a
program-record three-straight NE-10 regular season championships,
will host eighth-seeded and in-state rivals Southern New Hampshire
University (5-7-5, 5-6-2 NE-10) on Sunday at 6 p.m. The match is
the second half of an NE-10 Tournament doubleheader as Franklin
Pierce will host Saint Anselm College in a women's soccer
quarterfinal at 3 p.m. Admission to both matches is free.
The winner of Sunday's men's quarterfinal will advance
to Wednesday's semifinal round to face the winner of
Sunday's match between fifth-seeded Merrimack College
(11-5-3, 6-4-3 NE-10) and fourth-seeded Le Moyne College (14-2-2,
9-2-2 NE-10). Times for future rounds will be announced next
week.
Franklin Pierce enters postseason play unbeaten over its last 15,
with its lone loss of the year coming in the Ravens season-opener
against 24th-ranked University of Bridgeport, having completed its
first unbeaten regular season in conference play in 12 years. The
Ravens posted a 9-0-1 run through their New England Collegiate
Conference slate in 1995 and have gone unbeaten in regular season
conference play just three times in program history.
Franklin Pierce features the top two scorers in the Northeast-10 in
grad student David Clifton (London, England) and
sophomore Henning Comé (Göteborg,
Sweden), who have combined for 29 of the Ravens 44 goals
scored this season and eight of their 12 match-winning goals.
Clifton leads the NE-10 with 34 points and 16 goals to go with two
assists, while Comé has contributed 30 points on 13 goals
and four assists. Senior captain Michel Vitulano
(Montréal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) has
dished a team-best seven assists, followed closely by classmate
Mike Lima (Ludlow, Mass./Ludlow) with six.
Senior All-America goalkeeper James Thorpe (East
Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) has played all
1,500-minutes in goal for Franklin Pierce this season, breaking the
NCAA Division II career record for minutes played by a goalkeeper
with 7,736:55 over 86 career matches played. He leads the NE-10
with a 0.66 goals against average and nine shutouts (46 career) to
go with a .776 save percentage this season.
Southern New Hampshire is seeking its third NE-10 title, having
captured tournament championships in 2000 and 2002. The Penmen come
into the postseason having dropped two-straight and three of
four.
SNHU is led by senior captain Matt Delaney (Wallasey, England) with
four goals for eight points, while classmate Gabe Mercier
(Middleboro, Mass./Middleboro) has contributed three goals and two
assists for seven points. Senior captain Dan Pelc (Hamilton,
Ontario/St. Thomas More) has played 1,340-minutes in goal over 14
matches for Southern New Hampshire. He has posted a 1.21 goals
against average and .731 save percentage with four shutouts.
Sunday will mark the 53rd meeting all-time between the Granite
State rivals, the ninth in postseason play and fifth in the NE-10
Tournament. Southern New Hampshire holds a 27-20-5 advantage in the
all-time series, including a 5-2-1 clip in postseason play, but
Franklin Pierce is 2-1-1 in NE-10 Tournament encounters. The Ravens
posted a 2-0 victory in the regular season meeting on September 26
in Manchester, scoring a pair of goals in a three-minute span
midway through the second half. These two teams met in the 2006
NE-10 Tournament semifinals, playing to a 2-2 double-overtime draw
before Franklin Pierce advanced in a penalty shootout (3-2).
2007 Northeast-10 Conference
Men's Soccer Championship
QUARTERFINALS
Sunday, October 28
#6 Saint Michael's (10-4-4, 5-4-4 NE-10) at #3 Southern Conn.
State (11-2-4, 9-1-3 NE-10), 1 p.m.
#5 Merrimack (11-5-3, 6-4-3 NE-10) at #4 Le Moyne (14-2-2, 9-2-2
NE-10), 1 p.m.
#7 Bryant (11-7-0, 6-7-0 NE-10) at #2 UMass Lowell (12-2-2, 10-2-1
NE-10), 3 p.m.
#8 Southern New Hampshire (5-7-5, 5-6-2 NE-10) at #1 Franklin
Pierce (12-1-3, 11-0-2 NE-10), 6 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Wednesday, October 31
St. Michael's/Southern Connecticut vs. Bryant/UMass Lowell,
TBA
Merrimack/Le Moyne vs. Southern N.H./Franklin Pierce, TBA
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, November 3
Semifinal winners, TBA
