Men’s Soccer Stymies New Haven, 2-0
Tsuji pots game-winner, adds assist
|
Frantz Francois scored a goal against New Haven on Saturday
night.RINDGE, N.H. (September 19,
2009) – Senior midfielder Kensaku Tsuji
(Tokushima, Japan) scored the game-winning goal and added
an assist on Saturday night to lead the Franklin Pierce University
men’s soccer team to a 2-0 victory over New Haven in
Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field.
With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 5-2-1 (3-1-0
Northeast-10), while New Haven falls to 1-5-0 (0-5-0
Northeast-10).
Neither team was able to put together much in he way of an attack
in the first half. Franklin Pierce controlled much of the run of
play and amassed an 8-1 shots advantage to go with a 4-1 edge in
corner kicks. However, of the eight shot attempts, only two found
the target and neither tested New Haven sophomore goalkeeper
Jonathan Creem.
Franklin Pierce broke the ice early in the second half after
graduate student midfielder Frantz Francois (West Palm
Beach, Fla.) was taken down at the top of the circle, just
outside the penalty area in the 52nd minute. Tsuji stood over the
ensuing free kick and knocked it over the wall and into the
lower-left corner for his second goal of the season.
The Ravens all but put the game out of reach in the 70th minute,
when they struck again to push the lead to 2-0. Tsuji attempted to
play a through ball behind the New Haven defense. However, a
Charger defender got his foot to the ball, which fortuitously
slowed it up enough for Francois to catch up to it. Francois had
only the keeper to beat, touched it around Creem to the right and
slid it into the empty net for his third goal of the season.
Franklin Pierce controlled play through much of the second half as
well and left the game with a 14-5 advantage in shots, as well as a
6-2 edge in corner kicks.
Sophomore goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington,
Mass.) was not tested while posting the win (3-1-0) and
his third consecutive shutout, as New Haven failed to put a shot on
target in the contest. Papageorgiou now holds a shutout streak of
280:34, dating to Sept. 9 at Southern New Hampshire.
Creem made four saves against six shots and took the loss 1-5-0 in
net for New Haven.
The Ravens return to the pitch on Wednesday, Sept. 23, for the
first of five consecutive road matches as they visit Le Moyne for a
Northeast-10 Conference contest. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at
Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex in Syracuse, N.Y. Franklin Pierce
next plays at home on Oct. 10 against Saint Rose at 7 p.m.