Victor Goncalves scores game-winner with four minutes
remaining
BOXSCORE
RINDGE, N.H. (September 8, 2011) – The No.
7-nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University men's soccer
team pulled out another come-from-behind victory Thursday
afternoon, this time with a 3-2 triumph over Bridgeport at Sodexo
Field in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 3-0 overall, while the
Purple Knights fell to 1-1.
Bridgeport took a 2-1 lead in the
51st minute as Juan Galarza scored off a header attempt.
The marker capped a satisfying first five minutes of the second
half for the Purple Knights as they controlled the pace of
play.
Bridgeport continued its solid play
as the Knights tried to protect the lead, but slowly Franklin
Pierce picked up the intensity on the offensive end. The Ravens
battled back and in the 66th minute junior midfielder
Amory Houghton (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) headed over
a pass in front of the net to senior back Tom Reilly
(Wallasey, England), who blasted home a strike with a
header attempt to knot the score at 2-2. For Reilly, it was the
second-straight match he scored a goal, which moved him into a tie
for the team lead with Houghton. For Houghton, he recorded an
assist on the play for his team-leading fifth point.
The goal lifted the Ravens while
Bridgeport stumbled out of its early momentum. Franklin Pierce
continued its offensive rhythm and in the 86th minute
senior forward Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil) tracked down a loose ball, dribbled down the right
side and fired off a shot that beat the Bridgeport goalkeeper for
the go-ahead tally and a 3-2 advantage. The tally was
Goncalves' first of the season.
Franklin Pierce's defensive
unit held the Purple Knights in check over the final four minutes
to make the lead stand up and seal the win. Franklin Pierce held a
9-7 advantage in shots for the game, including a 5-1 margin in the
second 45 minutes. The Ravens win came against a Bridgeport team
which had knocked off No. 12 Southern Connecticut State last
weekend in the season-opener.
The Ravens took a 1-0 lead in the
22nd minute following junior midfielder Nicholas
Schibly's (Litchfield, N.H.) first goal of the
season. Schibly notched the marker after tracking down a long pass,
dribbling past one Bridgeport defender and firing off a high shot
to the center of the net which the Bridgeport keeper could not
handle.
Franklin Pierce took the pace of
play to Bridgeport for most of the remainder of the half, but the
Purple Knights knotted the game at 1-1 on Markus Naglestad's
goal off a penalty kick with a minute left in the frame.
The Ravens have the weekend off
from competition, but return to action on Tuesday when they play
host to UMass-Lowell at 7 p.m. in Sodexo Field. The match will mark
the 2011 season opener for the Ravens.
For more information on Franklin
Pierce men's soccer, please visit the team's page at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further,
please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports),
Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics)
and Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics).
