Amory Houghton scores and then assists on Paul Latif’s game-winner in OT

BOXSCORE                                           

RINDGE, N.H. (September 22, 2010) – The 25^th-ranked Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team pulled off a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind victory in overtime over Le Moyne on Wednesday afternoon at Sodexo Field in Rindge. The win pushed the Ravens’ winning streak to three matches and their record to 5-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in Northeast-10 play. The Dolphins, the defending NE-10 champions, dipped to 2-2-2 and 1-1-1 in league play.

After a first half which saw Franklin Pierce struggle with Le Moyne’s pressure, the Ravens rebounded and picked up the intensity and pace of play in the second 45 minutes.

Franklin Pierce trailed 1-0 in the early stages of the second half, but sophomore midfielder Amory Houghton (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) quickly erased the deficit with a strike in the 55^th minute to knot the contest. His goal came off a rebound attempt from a Diego Tabares (Seekonk, Mass.) shot that was initially saved by the Le Moyne goalkeeper, but couldn’t be scooped up. Houghton, who was already in the box, collected the loose ball and slipped it into the lower left corner of the goal to make it 1-1. Tabares was credited with an assist on the play.

Houghton’s goal was one of eight shots recorded by the Ravens in the second half, as they outshot Le Moyne by a count of 8-3. That count was a reversal from the first half when the Dolphins held a 6-3 advantage in shots.

Neither team scored the rest of the way in regulation, despite Franklin Pierce getting two quality chances late from Collins Appau (Worcester, Mass.) and Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

The two near misses would not haunt the Ravens in the overtime. In the 95^th minute, Houghton slipped a quick pass to junior midfielder Paul Latif (Newcastle, England), who dribbled the ball down the right-hand side of the field before coming up the right end line and slipping a shot past the Le Moyne goalkeeper into the far left-side of the net for the game-winning tally.

Houghton got credit for an assist on the play to give him a three-point afternoon. It was Latif’s second goal of the season as both have come via the game-winner fashion. Latif also scored the game’s first goal in last Tuesday’s 2-0 triumph at UMass-Lowell. In fact, Latif has factored in each of the game-winning goals for Franklin Pierce during its three-match winning streak. In addition to the two goals, on Sunday in FPU’s 1-0 double-overtime win at New Haven, Latif sent a corner kick towards the net and got credit with an assist after Tyler Rosa (Rehoboth, Mass.) redirected the shot with a header to lift the Ravens to victory.

Franklin Pierce junior goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.) made three saves to earn the win and run his record to 5-1 on the season. He did allow a first half goal to Le Moyne’s Zach Kuzemka in the 14^th minute to make it 1-0 Dolphins. It was the first regulation goal allowed by Franklin Pierce in its last five contests.

Zach Henlin started in goal for the Dolphins and suffered the loss despite making two saves. The Ravens, ultimately, outshot the Dolphins by a 13-9 margin.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Sunday afternoon when it plays host to No. 16-nationally ranked Merrimack at 4 p.m. in Sodexo Field. It will be Rocky the Raven Kid’s Day from 12-4 p.m., as area youth will have the opportunity to learn public safety tips from the Rindge Police Department.

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.