Solid All-Round Play at Both Ends Leads #16 Men's Soccer to 3-0 Win Over Molloy
Santos, Goncalves and Hay each score to pace Ravens offensively
RINDGE, N.H. (September 4,
2010) – The No. 16-nationally ranked Franklin Pierce
University men’s soccer team used strong all-around play at
both ends of the field to pull off a satisfying 3-0 win over Molloy
on Saturday night at Sodexo Field in Rindge. The Ravens ran their
record to 2-0, while Molloy dipped to 0-2.
Marc Santos (East Hartford, Conn.), Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Jeff Hay (Dudley, Mass.) each scored a goal for the Ravens. It marked the second-straight game that both Goncalves and Hay each scored a goal, while Santos’ goal gave him at least one point in each of the first two contests this season.
Junior goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.) made three saves to earn the shutout victory and run his record to 2-0 on the young season. Franklin Pierce out-shot Molloy by a count of 16-11.
Franklin Pierce went on top to stay for good in the game’s seventh minute when Santos drilled a header past the Molloy goalkeeper for a 1-0 advantage. Santos was able to get a clean attempt on the ball following an arching pass by Paul Latif (Newcastle, England), who earned an assist on the play for his efforts. It was Latif’s second assist in as many games as his solid passing early on this year has helped aid in Franklin Pierce’s strong offensive play.
Goncalves had a nifty goal in the game’s 58th minute as he collected a loose ball and dribbled down into the right side of the box before ripping a shot into the lower left corner of the net past the out-stretched arms of Molloy’s goalkeeper.
Hay capped the game’s scoring with a tally in the
78th minute when he scored off a loose-ball attempt in
front of the goal line.
The game was played in front of 1,017 fans, who were on hand for multiple events that added to an exciting atmosphere. At halftime of the contest, Franklin Pierce debuted its new Rocky the Raven mascot, which drew loud applause from the fans in attendance. Immediately following the game, there was a fireworks show courtesy of Atlas Pyrotechnics.
Franklin Pierce now hits the road for three games before returning to the friendly-confines of Sodexo Field. The Ravens will travel to face Dowling on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. in New York. Franklin Pierce’s next home game will be on Sept. 22, when the Ravens play host to defending Northeast-10 Conference champion Le Moyne at 4 p.m. That game will kick off a four-game homestand for the Ravens.
For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s soccer, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) You can also visit www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports and www.twitter.com/FPUathletics to find out more about the program.