David Lima has three-point evening with goal & assist
RINDGE, N.H. (October 8, 2013) – Senior forward
Gareth Dudney (North Andover, Mass.) exploded for
a career-high three goals to lift the Franklin Pierce University
men's soccer team to a convincing 4-0 triumph over Stonehill
on Tuesday night at Sodexo Field in Rindge.
The win snapped Franklin
Pierce's two-game losing streak as the Ravens improved to 4-5
overall and 3-3 in the Northeast-10. The Skyhawks dipped to 3-7 and
2-5 in league play.
Dudney's three goals came on
eight attempts throughout the evening with five of those going on
net. He took over the team lead in markers with the explosive
output, as they were his first goals of the season.
Dudney's first strike came in
the 15th minute on a penalty kick, which was awarded to
the Ravens after a Stonehill defender hauled down a Ravens attacker
deep in the box. Dudney's PK was a laser to the upper left
corner of the net that Stonehill keeper Adam Colella had no chance
at stopping.
Franklin Pierce struck again 10
minutes later, this time with junior David Lima (Everett,
Mass.) sending a strike to the upper part of the goal off
a nice feed from freshman Dallas Donovan (South Yarmouth,
Mass.), who notched an assist on the play.
The onslaught continued nine
minutes later, as Dudney once again stepped up for Franklin Pierce
following a nice surge into the box by the Ravens. The play began
with graduate forward Ryan Ruffing (Westborough,
Mass.) coming down the right flank, and sending a kick
towards the goal that caromed off a Stonehill defender and onto the
foot of Dudney, who let a shot rip to the lower left corner of the
goal for a 3-0 Ravens' lead. Ruffing's aggressive rush
earned him an assist on the play.
Franklin Pierce held a commanding
18-2 edge in shots during the opening 45 minutes, and finished with
a blistering 26-9 advantage. Eleven (11) of those attempts went on
net, including a pair from Ruffing.
Dudney put a capper to his
hat-trick in the 61st minute when he took a crossing
pass from Lima, and fired to the lower right corner of the goal to
make it 4-0. Lima racked up an assist on the goal to give him a
three-point evening.
Colella was ambushed by the three
goals in the first half, and despite making five saves in only 45
minutes of action, he was tagged with the loss to fall to 3-7.
Stonehill did not create much of an
offensive surge, but when the Skyhawks did penetrate deep into
Franklin Pierce territory, junior goalkeeper Sam Meza
(Whittier, Calif.) stood tall by making a pair of saves to
earn the shutout win and improve to 4-5 on the year.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Saturday when the Ravens play host to Saint Rose at 7 p.m. on
Sodexo Field.
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(.)