Gareth Dudney with four shots in final collegiate match

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (November 8, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team gave a valiant effort in a 0-0 tie with Merrimack on Friday in the Northeast-10 Championship Semifinals. However, the Ravens could not complete what would have been a wild win, as the Warriors won in a penalty kick shootout (4-2 count) to advance to the league’s championship on Sunday against Southern New Hampshire. Franklin Pierce moved to 8-8-2 with the tie, while the Warriors moved to 13-3-2.

Franklin Pierce held an 18-16 advantage in shots, but Merrimack was able to place nine on goal compared to the Ravens’ five.

However, neither side could solve the opposing keeper in regulation or the two overtimes as the contest remained scoreless.

Franklin Pierce tucked freshman Aidan Abolfazli (Worcester, Mass.) in goal, marking the first collegiate action of his career, let alone his first start. The rookie held up just fine in goal, turning aside all nine shots he faced, including getting peppered by 11 attempts from Merrimack in the second half.

Jose Silva was just as solid in goal for Merrimack, making five saves to move to 13-3-2 on the year. He came up big in the two extra periods as the Ravens held a 5-2 edge in shots.

Following 110 minutes of scoreless and evenly contested action, both teams went to a shootout to determine who would go to Sunday’s NE-10 championship in Manchester to face top-seeded SNHU.

Franklin Pierce got a pair of goals in the shootout, but Merrimack popped in four of its own to advance to Sunday.

Freshman Pedro Espindola (Sao Paulo, Brazil) paced Franklin Pierce with seven shots in the contest, while senior Gareth Dudney (North Andover, Mass.) followed with four.

Julio Leon Garcia and Augusto Silva each logged four attempts for Merrimack in its offensive attack.

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 http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)