#2 Men's Soccer Getting Set for NCAA Division II Final Four in the Sunshine State of Florida
Ravens to face Lynn on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m (ET)/5 p.m. (CT); match can be seen live online at www.ncaa.com
RINDGE, N.H. (November 21, 2011)
– The No. 2 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce
University men’s soccer team is getting set for the 2011 NCAA
Division II Final Four, which will be held Dec. 1-3 in Pensacola,
Fla. The Ravens will take on Lynn University in the national
semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (CT) at the
Ashton Brosnaham Complex.
Fans who can’t make the trip to the Sunshine State to watch the Ravens don’t need to worry as the match will be streamed live online through Turner Sports at www.ncaa.com(.)
Franklin Pierce is making its fourth appearance in the Final Four in program history. This year’s squad joins the 1991, 2005 and 2007 teams as the four in program history to accomplish the feat. The 2005 and 2007 teams advanced to the NCAA finals with the ’07 squad claiming the first national title in program history with a 1-0 triumph over Lincoln Memorial.
The Ravens will enter the national semis following a pulsating 1-0 win over in-state rival Southern New Hampshire on Saturday night in the quarterfinals in Sodexo Field. Arguably the largest crowd in Sodexo Field history cheered on the Ravens and even took part in the post-match celebration as the fans stormed the field to congratulate the team on its thrilling triumph.
Junior midfielder Nicholas Schibly (Litchfield, N.H.) chipped in the match’s only goal in the 49th minute to lift the Ravens to victory. He was able to get his foot on a nifty crossing pass from senior midfielder Paul Latif (Newcastle, England), who garnered an assist on the play. Latif has logged at least one point in each of Franklin Pierce’s two NCAA matches this season. Senior goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.) made a pair of saves to earn his fifth-straight shutout victory (13 overall this season) and run his record to 21-0-1 on the campaign. In the process, Papageorgiou lowered his career goals against average to 0.66, which moved him into a tie for first place in program history in that category along with former standout James Thorpe.
Franklin Pierce’s 21 wins this season is a program record for most victories in a single year, while its string of 22-straight matches without a loss is also tops in team history.
Lynn is making its first appearance in the NCAA Final Four since 2005. The Fighting Knights advanced to the semis via penalty kicks on Sunday versus Flagler. Both teams played to a 1-1 draw before Lynn recorded a 4-2 advantage in PKs.
The Franklin Pierce-Lynn winner will advance to the NCAA National Championship match two days later on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 4:30 p.m. (ET)/3:30 p.m. (CT). The other semifinal match will feature Fort Lewis and Millersville. The national championship will also be streamed live online through ncaa.com(.)
Throughout the next two weeks leading up to the Final Four, please continue checking athletics.franklinpierce.edu for all the latest news surrounding the men’s soccer team. Fans will also be able to find a blog featuring videos, news and much more.
Fans can also stay up to date with all the latest news on Franklin Pierce Athletics through YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).