Senior midfielder Frantz Francois netted the only goal of the match
as the Ravens slipped past Bentley tonight. PHOTO BY Richard
Orr Sports Photography.
|
Francois' second half goal the difference as Ravens post
fifth-straight home shutout
Boxscore
RINDGE, N.H. (October 22,
2008) - Defending NCAA Division II Champion Franklin
Pierce University, ranked ninth in this week's National Soccer
Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II East
Regional poll, posted a 1-0 victory over Bentley College in
Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer action at Sodexo Field
tonight.
Senior midfielder Frantz
Francois (Saint-Marc, Haiti/Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.))
netted the only goal of the match for Franklin Pierce, when he
collected the ball at the top center of the 18 and spun past a
defender before firing a shot from 15-yards out on the right
channel for his third goal of the season. The goal lifted the
Ravens to victory and extended their regular season unbeaten streak
in NE-10 matches at home to 32 (29-0-3) dating back to the 2003
season - a streak they will carry into next season.
Freshman goalkeeper Vinny
Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) made two saves
to preserve his sixth shutout of the season. The Ravens have kept
clean sheets in each of their last five home matches - a string of
531:47 dating back to the 29th minute of a 5-1 victory
over The College of Saint Rose on September 16.
Freshman goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou made two saves to preserve
his sixth shutout of the season. PHOTO BY Richard Orr Sports
Photography.
|
Sophomore Michael Nikiforov
(Framingham, Mass./Framingham) made four stops in goal for
Bentley. Franklin Pierce posted a 10-7 advantage in shots for the
match, but shots were even at three aside at halftime and were 6-4
in favor of the Falcons just over ten minutes into the second half.
Franklin Pierce was a bit fortunate
to escape the opening minutes of the second half level as Bentley
produced a couple of dangerous scoring chances. None more so than a
pair of shots from sophomore Mike Lipsett (Walpole,
Mass./Walpole) in the 56th minute, who had a
blast from 12-yards out blocked by Papageorgiou, before stepping
into the loose rebound seconds later, but missing the target.
Franklin Pierce settled things a
bit from there, with Francois collecting his second match-winning
goal of the season in the 65th minute. Bentley still
nearly managed an equalizing goal in the closing minutes, with
Lipsett firing off the side netting on the left side during a
scramble inside the 18 in the 85th minute.
Franklin Pierce (10-6-1, 8-2-1
NE-10) returns to action on Saturday, when it visits Merrimack
College, ranked seventh in the East Region, for a key NE-10 clash
at 3 p.m. Bentley (6-8-2, 3-6-2 NE-10) hosts American International
College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
