Franklin Pierce Edges #14 Le Moyne in OT, 2-1
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Ahern nets 96th minute winner for Ravens after Dolphins force OT with late marker
RINDGE, N.H. (September 9, 2008) - Junior Sean Ahern's (Somers, Conn./Somers) first career goal 5:31 into overtime lifted Franklin Pierce University, the reigning NCAA Division II National Champions, to a 2-1 victory over Le Moyne College, ranked 14th in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll and second in the East Region, in Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer action at Sodexo Field this afternoon.
Ahern's low drive from just inside the 18 on the right channel found the left side of the net after junior midfielder Kensaku Tsuji's (Tokushima, Japan) free kick from the left flank was served towards the far post and was squared back to the top of the penalty area by freshman Daniel Kijowski (Montreal, Quebec/St.-Ex). Tsuji played a role in both Raven goals, dishing a pair of assists on the day.
The victory extends Franklin Pierce's unbeaten streak in NE-10 regular season matches to 16 (14-0-2) dating back to late 2006. The Ravens have won three-straight NE-10 regular season championships, posting a 33-2-6 in that time.
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Le Moyne forced extra time when senior Matthew Pecheone (New Hartford, N.Y./New Hartford) tapped in a cross from the right side by sophomore Joe Viviano (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) with just 8:23 to play in regulation. The goal came after Pecheone had an initial shot parried wide of the right post by Franklin Pierce sophomore goalkeeper Carl Contrascier (Hinkley, Ohio/Highland). However, the ball rolled to the right flank, where Viviano redirected it back into the penalty area for Pecheone to tap into the open net.
Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the 25th minute, when freshman back Tom Reilly (Wallasey, England) headed in a Tsuji corner kick from the left side at the far post for his first collegiate goal. The goal snapped a two-match scoring drought for the Ravens that lasted exactly 223-minutes dating back to their second goal of a 2-1 season-opening victory over the University of Bridgeport.
Contrascier finished with two saves to preserve the victory for Franklin Pierce, while junior Steve White (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland) had three stops for Le Moyne. Shots were even at 14-14 for the match, but the Ravens placed six on target, compared to four for the Dolphins.
Franklin Pierce (2-2-0, 1-0-0 NE-10) has little recovery time as it will face No. 3 Lynn University in opening day action of the Lynn/Embassy Suites Classic on Thursday in Boca Raton, Fla., at 1 p.m. The Ravens return home next Tuesday, when it hosts The College of Saint Rose at 7 p.m. Le Moyne (3-1-1, 1-1-0 NE-10) hosts Bentley College on Saturday at 1 p.m.