Daniel Donaldson scores a pair of goals to help lead the Ravens to victory and a championship

WALTHAM, Mass. (October 25, 2011) -- The No. 2 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team clinched the 2011 Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship on Tuesday with a satisfying 4-2 win over Bentley in Waltham, Mass. The Ravens improved to 15-0-1 overall and 11-0-1 in the NE-10, while Bentley dipped to 9-5-2 and 7-4-1 in league play.

Franklin Pierce claimed the NE-10 regular season title for the second-straight season. The Ravens won the championship last season on the way to also claiming the NE-10 tournament championship. By winning the regular season championship, Franklin Pierce earned the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the upcoming conference tournament, which begins next Tuesday with the quarterfinals.

Franklin Pierce's triumph over Bentley on Tuesday also marked the second-consecutive year the Ravens downed the Falcons to claim one of the NE-10 titles. The Ravens defeated Bentley, 1-0, back in early November of last season in the conference tournament championship game at Sodexo Field. The win helped propel Franklin Pierce to the top seed in Sub-Region 1 of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

With the championship in the bag, Franklin Pierce will now close out the regular season on Saturday when the Ravens travel to Syracuse, N.Y. to face Le Moyne at 1 p.m. A win would ensure Franklin Pierce a regular season that features zero losses.

Tuesday's triumph over Bentley did not come without an early struggle, as the Falcons went on top, 1-0, in the 19th minute following a goal from Weston Zeiner.

Franklin Pierce, however, did not fold and quickly countered just four minutes later as senior midfielder Diego Tabares (Seekonk, Mass.) dribbled down the left wing and chipped a shot over the goalkeeper to knot the score at 1-1. It was Tabares' team-leading eighth tally of the season.

It was graduate back Daniel Donaldson's (Moechengladbach, Germany) turn to get in on the scoring act and he gladly jumped at the chance with two goals bridging the first and second halves. Donaldson's first tally came in the 31st minute when he headed in a crossing pass off a corner-kick attempt from freshman Tom Wampler (Attleboro, Mass.). Donaldson logged his second goal of the season, while Wampler notched an assist on the play.

Donaldson tallied his second goal of the game and his third goal of the season in the 74th minute when he headed in another crossing pass off a corner-kick attempt, this time coming from sophomore Gareth Dudney (North Andover, Mass.), who was credited with an assist on the play.

The Ravens went up 4-1 just three minutes later when Greg Giguere (East Bridgewater, Mass.) took a through pass from Amory Houghton (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), dribbled down the field and fired a strike past the goalie. It was Giguere's third goal of the season, while Houghton also earned a point on the play as he garnered an assist.

Bentley did score moments later to pull within two goals, but the Falcons would not get any closer as Franklin Pierce nailed down the win and the regular season title.

Franklin Pierce senior Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.), the reigning NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week, made three saves to earn the win and run his record to 15-0-1 on the season.

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), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).