#6 Southern Connecticut Edges #14 Franklin Pierce in 2OT, 3-2
Occean involved in all three Owl goals, nets the match-winner in the 108th minute
RINDGE, N.H. (October 22, 2003) - Senior forward Olivier Occean (Montreal, Quebec/College Francais) played a role in all three goals, netting the match-winner in the 108th minute, to lead Southern Connecticut State University, ranked No. 6 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II rankings, to a 3-2 double-overtime victory over No. 14 Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer action at Crystal Field.
Occean finished the match with five points, netting a pair of go-ahead goals and dishing an assist that knotted the match after Franklin Pierce held a 1-0 lead at the intermission.
Occean's winner came on the best scoring opportunity by either team in the second overtime session and it marked the Owls first shot of the second overtime. He worked with classmate Levente Dobondi (Miskolc, Hungary) on a give-and-go where Occean worked his way open at the upper left corner of the penalty area for a shot into the lower right corner of the net past the diving effort of Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Domenico Roma (Windsor, Ontario/Ste. Annes) at the 107:50-mark.
The goal clinches the top seed in next month's Northeast-10 Tournament and at least a share of the NE-10 regular season crown for the Owls. They can clinch the regular season title outright with a win or tie in their final regular season match at Merrimack on Sunday or a Franklin Pierce loss in one of its final two matches.
While Southern enjoyed the better of play over the opening 15-20 minutes, Franklin Pierce took control and opened the scoring in the 40th minute when grad student Craig Stewart (Newcastle, England) pounced on a loose ball after Southern junior goalkeeper Paulo DeOliveira (Bridgeport, Conn./Bridgeport Central) mishandled a serve from Ravens junior Troy McColl (Doonside, Australia) off a corner kick. Stewart, who entered the match as a reserve in the 30th minute for his first game action since the Ravens eighth match of the season due to injury, slid in and got a foot on the loose ball on the far post.
DeOliveira was injured on the play and was replaced by freshman Matt Gilman (West Haven, Conn./West Haven). The goal was also the first allowed by Southern in the month of October, snapping a 512-minute shutout streak dating back to a 2-1 win over Bryant College on September 30.
The Owls came out attacking in the second half and Occean set up an equalizing goal by junior Uziel Vazquez (Yonkers, N.Y./Herkimer County CC), who accepted the pass at the top of the box, took three dribbles towards the near side of the field, then fired a shot into the lower right corner of the net just 2:12 into the second half.
Occean put the Owls ahead for the first time just 4:53 later when he took a pass from freshman Matt Friedrich (Stafford Springs, Conn./Stafford) and fired a shot from the top center of the penalty area past Roma at the 52:05-mark.
Franklin Pierce recovered and began to carry possession again and equalized in the 66th minute. Senior Felix Brillant (Montreal, Quebec/College Francais) gave a pass to junior Mark Jansen (Enschede, The Netherlands) who sent in a shot that was flicked into the net by classmate Kenneth Reid (Sarpsborg, Norway) at the near post.
Both teams had excellent opportunities to end the match in the first extra session. Gilman made his only two saves of the match in the first three minutes of the first overtime. The first came on a wide-open Reid in the middle of the penalty area that still had to be cleared off the line by the Southern defense at the 91:43-mark. Gilman's second came on a wide-open header at the far post by Franklin Pierce senior back Sean McCabe (Derry City, Northern Ireland) at 92:40.
Southern had a free kick at the top of the penalty area after a Franklin Pierce foul and the Owls quick kick found the back of the net, but the official called it back because they had asked for the minimum ten-yards for the wall, and Roma made a save on sophomore Jordan Russolillo's (Middletown, Conn./Middletown) second effort.
Roma finished with four saves for Franklin Pierce, while DeOliveira totaled three stops in his 40-minutes of action. Gilman registered the two saves over the final 67:53.
The Owls held a slim 17-16 advantage in shots for the match between the top two teams in the New England Regional rankings, while shots on target were even at seven apiece.
Franklin Pierce (9-5-1, 9-2 NE-10) now looks to end its current two-match skein when it hosts American International College on Saturday at 1 p.m. Southern Connecticut (13-1-1, 11-1 NE-10) rounds out its Northeast-10 Conference slate at Merrimack College on Sunday at 1 p.m.