Victor Goncalves scores game-winner with four minutes remaining

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (September 8, 2011) – The No. 7-nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team pulled out another come-from-behind victory Thursday afternoon, this time with a 3-2 triumph over Bridgeport at Sodexo Field in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 3-0 overall, while the Purple Knights fell to 1-1.

Bridgeport took a 2-1 lead in the 51^st minute as Juan Galarza scored off a header attempt. The marker capped a satisfying first five minutes of the second half for the Purple Knights as they controlled the pace of play.

Bridgeport continued its solid play as the Knights tried to protect the lead, but slowly Franklin Pierce picked up the intensity on the offensive end. The Ravens battled back and in the 66^th minute junior midfielder Amory Houghton (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) headed over a pass in front of the net to senior back Tom Reilly (Wallasey, England), who blasted home a strike with a header attempt to knot the score at 2-2. For Reilly, it was the second-straight match he scored a goal, which moved him into a tie for the team lead with Houghton. For Houghton, he recorded an assist on the play for his team-leading fifth point.

The goal lifted the Ravens while Bridgeport stumbled out of its early momentum. Franklin Pierce continued its offensive rhythm and in the 86^th minute senior forward Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) tracked down a loose ball, dribbled down the right side and fired off a shot that beat the Bridgeport goalkeeper for the go-ahead tally and a 3-2 advantage. The tally was Goncalves’ first of the season.

Franklin Pierce’s defensive unit held the Purple Knights in check over the final four minutes to make the lead stand up and seal the win. Franklin Pierce held a 9-7 advantage in shots for the game, including a 5-1 margin in the second 45 minutes. The Ravens win came against a Bridgeport team which had knocked off No. 12 Southern Connecticut State last weekend in the season-opener.

The Ravens took a 1-0 lead in the 22^nd minute following junior midfielder Nicholas Schibly’s (Litchfield, N.H.) first goal of the season. Schibly notched the marker after tracking down a long pass, dribbling past one Bridgeport defender and firing off a high shot to the center of the net which the Bridgeport keeper could not handle.

Franklin Pierce took the pace of play to Bridgeport for most of the remainder of the half, but the Purple Knights knotted the game at 1-1 on Markus Naglestad’s goal off a penalty kick with a minute left in the frame.

The Ravens have the weekend off from competition, but return to action on Tuesday when they play host to UMass-Lowell at 7 p.m. in Sodexo Field. The match will mark the 2011 season opener for the Ravens.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s soccer, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics).