Dallas Donovan scores only goals of the match
RINDGE, N.H. (October 12, 2013) – Freshman forward Dallas Donovan (South Yarmouth, Mass.) exploded for a pair of goals in the final five minutes of regulation Saturday night to break a scoreless tie and lift the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team to a thrilling 2-0 win over Saint Rose on Sodexo Field in Rindge.
The Ravens won their second straight to even their overall record at 5-5 and move a game over .500 in the conference standings at 4-3 in the Northeast-10. The Golden Knights dipped to 4-7 and 1-6 in league play.
Franklin Pierce dominated play throughout the entire evening, but had nothing to show for it until the 86th minute when Donovan struck home a slick feed from junior David Lima (Everett, Mass.).
Lima worked his way towards the top center of the box with the ball, and slipped a side pass over to Donovan at the top left corner, who then ripped a strike to the upper right corner of the net that Saint Rose keeper Colan Balkwell had no chance at stopping.
Graduate back Terence Ciavarra (Sutton, Mass.) sprung Donovan's second goal just two minutes later in the 88th minute, as he launched a stretch pass nearly three quarters of the way down the field, which the rookie tracked down on the bounce and chipped a simple shot past the charging keeper to the lower right corner of the goal.
Both Lima and Ciavarra earned assists on the play, while Donovan moved into a tie for the team lead in goals with three. He joined senior Gareth Dudney (North Andover, Mass.), who had originally moved into the top spot on the team in goals with his three-tally performance in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over Stonehill.
Franklin Pierce outshot the Golden Knights, 21-5, including a 12-3 edge in the final 45 minutes. Donovan fired off three shots with each attempt going on net, while classmate Pedro Espindola (Sao Paulo, Brazil) logged a match-high four attempts. Jefferson Rojas (Pawtucket, R.I.) added three shots as well for the Ravens.
Junior goalkeeper Sam Meza (Whittier, Calif.) did not need to make a save the entire night as he picked up the win to run his record to 5-5 on the year. Balkwell made six saves despite suffering the loss to fall to 1-6.
Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens travel to Manchester to take on Saint Anselm in a 3:30 p.m. kick.
For more information on Franklin Pierce men's soccer, please visit the team's page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's soccer apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
