Torstensson's double-overtime winner leads sixth-seeded Ravens past third-seeded Dolphins; Second-seeded Dowling up next on Sunday

Boxscore 

BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. (November 14, 2008) - Sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce opened its National Championship defense with a 1-0 double-overtime victory over third-seeded Le Moyne College in opening round action of the 2008 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship's East Regional, hosted by Dowling College, at Golden Lions Field this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce (13-7-2) advances to the East Regional semifinal round to face second-seeded and No. 12-ranked Dowling (16-3-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match up will feature the last two Division II Champions, with the Golden Lions capturing the title in 2006 followed by the Ravens last season. Le Moyne caps its season with a 13-6-3 overall record, 9-3-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

"I thought we competed well and played comfortable right from the get-go against a difficult opponent," said Franklin Pierce head coach Marco Koolman. "The boys carried out the game plan the way we wanted, they worked hard and were able to shut down their primary offensive threats which made it difficult for them."

Sophomore midfielder Johan Torstensson (Falköping, Sweden) decided the match with his first goal of the season. Senior Frantz Francois (Saint-Marc, Haiti/Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.)) assisted on the marker.

Freshman Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) made seven saves (six first half) to preserve his eighth shutout of the season for Franklin Pierce. Le Moyne placed seven of its eight shots in the match on target, but Franklin Pierce posted an 18-8 advantage in shots overall - including 10-2 after halftime. Junior Steve White (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland) made three stops in goal for the Dolphins.

Franklin Pierce dominated possession and the stat sheet, but lacked that last bit of finishing quality until Torstensson's winner 5:23 before the match would have been decided by penalty kicks. The Ravens placed just four of its 18 shots on target in the afternoon.

Torstensson emerged from a scramble on the right side of the penalty area and took a short pass from Francois before firing a shot from five yards out into the right corner of the net. The goal was the third of Torstensson's two-year career, while Francois picked up his fifth assist of the season.

"The main thing for us, as it has been all year, is finding the net or pulling the trigger," said Koolman. "We got to a stage of the game when Le Moyne seemed to be struggling and Frantz was able to free himself and pull the keeper off his line and found Johan for a nice finish."