Ravens seek fourth NE-10 Championship appearance with win over second-seeded Penmen

RINDGE, N.H. (November 4, 2008) - Third-seeded Franklin Pierce University, the defending NCAA Division II Champions, hits the road to face second-seeded Southern New Hampshire University, ranked 13^th in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, for semifinal round action of the 2008 Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer championships.

Franklin Pierce (12-7-1, 9-3-1 NE-10) and Southern New Hampshire (14-2-3, 9-1-3 NE-10) will kickoff at Larkin Field on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Ravens are seeking their fourth appearance in the Northeast-10 Championship match - all since 2004. Franklin Pierce claimed its lone NE-10 Tournament title in 2006. The Penmen seek their third finals appearance, capturing tournament championships in 2000 and 2002.

Admission for Wednesday's match will be $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and senior citizens. Live stats and video (no commentary) will be available through the Franklin Pierce (athletics.franklinpierce.edu) and Southern New Hampshire (www.snhupenmen.com) athletics websites.

The winner of Wednesday's matchup will advance to Saturday's NE-10 Championship match to face the winner of tomorrow's other NE-10 semifinal between fourth-seeded Le Moyne College (12-4-3, 9-3-1 NE-10) and top-seeded and No. 21 University of Massachusetts Lowell (11-2-4, 9-1-3 NE-10) in Lowell, Mass., at 5 p.m. Match time for Saturday's championship will be determined on Thursday.

Franklin Pierce enters tomorrow's match having won five of its last seven contests after advancing with a 2-1 overtime victory over sixth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University on Sunday at Sodexo Field. Senior midfielder Frantz Francois (Saint-Marc, Haiti/Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.)) played a role in both goals for the Ravens, netting the deciding goal with just 1:27 left in the first overtime. Freshman Viktor Gonçalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) scored Franklin Pierce's opening goal, off a Francois assist, to equalize the match in the 58^th minute just 3:03 after Southern Connecticut had scored the first goal of the match.

Franklin Pierce, which finished just a win away from claiming its fourth-straight NE-10 regular season title, enters tomorrow's match ranked fifth in the Conference in scoring with 1.75 goals per match and sixth with a 1.13 team goals against average. The Ravens have posted a 4-6-0 record on the road this season, compared to an 8-1-1 clip at Sodexo Field.

Gonçalves, named the NE-10 Freshman of the Year and a first team All-Conference selection over the weekend, leads the Northeast-10 with 29 points and 12 goals this season, to go with five assists (7^th NE-10) in 20 matches. His four match-winning goals rank second among NE-10 leaders. Francois, also a first team All-NE-10 pick, has added five goals and four assists for 14 points, having scored a goal in three of the Ravens last four matches. Junior Kensaku Tsuji (Tokushima, Japan), a second team All-NE-10 pick, has chipped in with three goals and a team-high six assists (3^rd) for 12 points.

Freshman goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington), selected to the NE-10's inaugural All-Rookie team along with Gonçalves, has started the last 15 matches in goal for Franklin Pierce and posted a 0.86 goals against average (2^nd NE-10) and .711 save percentage with six shutouts (4^th) in 1,364:56. The Ravens are 10-4-1 since he took over in goal.

Southern New Hampshire, which captured a share of its first NE-10 regular season title, has won just once over its last three matches (1-1-1) heading into tomorrow night's Granite State clash. That victory came with the Penmen's 1-0 decision over seventh-seeded Assumption College in Sunday's NE-10 quarterfinal round. Junior Paulson Edum (Calabar, Nigeria) scored the lone goal of the match 12:40 into the second half. Senior goalkeeper Sean Lambert (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth) posted his ninth shutout without registering a save.

Southern New Hampshire leads the NE-10 with a miniscule 0.36 team goals against average and ranks sixth in the Conference in scoring with 1.68 goals per match. The Penmen are a perfect 10-0 at home this season, compared to a 4-2-3 mark on the road.

Lambert, the NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year, has been the backbone of the SNHU defense and leads the Conference with a 0.38 goals against average, .854 save percentage and nine shutouts in 1,649:24 over 18 matches this season. The Penmen have allowed more than one goal in a match just once this season and a total of just seven so far in 19 contests. SNHU also features a pair of first team All-NE-10 defenders in senior Matt Delaney (Wallasey, England) and junior Richard Kentish (Kingston, Jamaica). 

Junior Adrian Schippers (Ashby, Mass./North Middlesex Regional), the NE-10 Player of the Year, has made an immediate impact for SNHU since transferring from Springfield College. He leads the team with eight goals (8^th NE-10) and five assists (7^th) for 21 points (5^th) in 19 matches played. Edum has added eight goals as well (8^th) and three assists for 19 points. A Conference-best five of Edum's eight goals have been match-winners this season.

Sunday will mark the 54^th meeting all-time between these longtime Granite State rivals, the 11^th in postseason play - including five previous NE-10 Tournament meetings. Southern New Hampshire holds a 28-20-5 advantage in the all-time series, including a 5-4-1 edge in postseason play. Franklin Pierce is 3-1-1 against Southern in the NE-10 Tournament since the two programs joined the Conference prior to the 2000 season.

Franklin Pierce has eliminated Southern New Hampshire from the NE-10 tournament each of the last two seasons, posting a 3-1 victory in the quarterfinal round a year ago at Sodexo Field behind two goals from Henning Comé and surviving penalty kicks (3-2) in the 2006 semifinals after the two sides played to a 2-2 double-overtime draw.

Southern New Hampshire snapped a six-match winless streak (0-5-1) against Franklin Pierce by posting a 2-1 victory in the regular season meeting between the two at Larkin Field on October 14. Sophomore Michael Adam (Ludlow, Mass./Ludlow) netted the deciding goal when scooped up a Ravens turnover near midfield and caught Papageorgiou off his line and lofted a shot from 35-yards out into the top shelf of the net with just 4:21 left in regulation. Edum had put SNHU in front in the 14^th minute, but the Ravens equalized before halftime with grad student Casey Ftorek (Wolfeboro, N.H./Taft School) scoring in the 37^th minute.  

2008 Northeast-10 Conference
Men's Soccer Championships 

Sunday, November 2
Quarterfinal Round
#4 Le Moyne 2, #5 Merrimack 2 (Le Moyne advances on PKs, 4-3)
#3 Franklin Pierce 2, #6 Southern Connecticut State 1 (OT)
#2 Southern New Hampshire 1, #7 Assumption 0
#1 UMass Lowell 4, #8 Bentley 1 

Wednesday, November 5
Semifinal Round
#3 Franklin Pierce (12-7-1, 9-3-1 NE-10) at #2 Southern N.H. (14-2-3, 9-1-3 NE-10), 5 p.m.
#4 Le Moyne (12-4-3, 9-3-1 NE-10) at #1 UMass Lowell (11-2-4, 9-1-3 NE-10), 5 p.m. 

Saturday, November 8
Championship (at highest remaining seed)
Semifinal winners, TBA