Franklin Pierce Slips Past Bentley, 1-0
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Francois' second half goal the difference as Ravens post fifth-straight home shutout
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.
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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.