Stipp's Goal & Meza's Huge Save Key in Men's Soccer Picking Up 1-0 Win Over Bridgeport

Ravens pick up first win of the season

Terence Ciavarra helped lead a defensive unit which limited Bridgeport to just eight shots in the contest.

RINDGE, N.H. (September 7, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team got timely saves from junior keeper Sam Meza (Whittier, Calif.), and a huge goal from sophomore David Stipp (Weiler, Rheinland-Pfalz), to pick up its first win of the season on Saturday via a 1-0 triumph over Bridgeport at Sodexo Field in Rindge. The Ravens evened their record at 1-1, while the Purple Knights dipped to 0-1.

Stipp’s goal came in the 34^th minute off a free kick attempt by senior Gareth Dudney (North Andover, Mass.), who dropped in a nice boot at the front of the goal. Senior Jefferson Rojas (Pawtucket, R.I.) nudged the ball with his leg over to Stipp, who slipped in a shot to the lower right corner for his first collegiate marker.

Rojas picked up an assist on the play for his first point of the season, and while not gaining an assist, Dudney had a big hand in the play, as he has now factored into both goals scored by the Ravens this season.

Franklin Pierce had a couple of chances in the second half to put the match out of reach, but could not convert.

That left the door open for Bridgeport to potentially knot the score, and the Purple Knights were able to generate a steady offensive push late in the contest. However, Meza came up with three big saves, including a leaping one off a header attempt inside of 12 minutes to keep it a 1-0 score.

The win was Meza’s first of his career, coming in just his second collegiate start. He improved to 1-1 in the process, and lowered his goals against average to 0.91 on the season.

Franklin Pierce held an 11-8 advantage in shots, marking the second time in as many contests this season the Ravens totaled more attempts than the opposition.

Augustin Prados made a pair of saves in the setback for the Purple Knights, but could not stop Stipp’s chip in, which proved to be the match-winner.

The win also avenged Franklin Pierce’s 1-0 setback at Bridgeport last season, which came five minutes into overtime. Saturday’s contest also marked the seventh-consecutive match between the two schools that was decided by a goal or less. Franklin Pierce owns a 4-2-1 mark in those seven meetings with neither side being able to string together consecutive wins.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens play host to Post at 7 p.m. in Sodexo Field.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s soccer, please visit the team’s page at http://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/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men’s soccer apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)