Men's Soccer Drops Tough NE-10 Semis Match at Le Moyne
Ravens nine-match unbeaten streak snapped
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (November 4, 2009) – The
third-seeded Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team
dropped a tough 2-1, double-overtime decision at second-seeded Le
Moyne on Wednesday afternoon in the semifinals of the Northeast-10
Tournament. The loss snapped Franklin Pierce’s nine-match
unbeaten streak, as the Ravens dipped to 12-4-3 on the season. The
10th-ranked Dolphins improved to 16-2-2 with the win.
Ironically, Franklin Pierce’s nine-match unbeaten streak (in
which it went 7-0-2 during that time) began following its 2-1
setback at Le Moyne on Sept. 23.
Both contests this season between the Ravens and Dolphins were
eerily similar. In both, Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 1-0 lead
in the first half, only to see Le Moyne score a pair of goals
following halftime to pull off the come-from-behind victories.
In this most recent contest, Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 1-0
lead in the 16th minute when sophomore midfielder Paul
Latif (Newcastle, England) buried his penalty kick
opportunity. His chance at the PK came about as he was interfered
with inside the box as he attempted to get a shot off. Latif had a
team-high two shots in the contest.
Le Moyne held a 5-2 advantage in shots in the opening 45 minutes,
but Franklin Pierce’s defense did a solid job of not allowing
the Dolphins any serious scoring opportunities.
The Dolphins responded in the second half and tied the game at 1-1
in the 57th minute. Angelo Reina scored the first of his two goals
on the afternoon when took a cross pass from 12 yards out and
slipped it past Franklin Pierce goalkeeper Vinny
Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.).
Le Moyne had a strong scoring chance late in regulation, but
Papageorgiou came up with an important save to preserve the tie and
send the contest into overtime.
Following a scoreless first overtime, Le Moyne answered midway
through the second extra session with yet another goal from Reina
to pull out the win and advance to Saturday’s conference
tournament championship game. Reina’s second goal also came
from 12 yards out as he was able to place the shot between the
out-stretched arms of Papageorgiou and the crossbar.
The Ravens, who are ranked fifth in this week’s edition of
the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Committee’s East
Region Poll, will now wait until Monday when the selections for the
NCAA Tournament are made. The selections will be announced at 7
p.m. (ET) via a selection show webcast on NCAA.com(.)
For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s soccer, please
visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)