Preber adds first-half goal

RINDGE, N.H. (October 7, 2014) – Graduate student midfielder Quincy Appah (Accra, Ghana) scored his third game-winning goal of the season on Tuesday night, in the 87th minute to break a 1-1 tie, as the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team picked up a 2-1 win at home against Saint Anselm in Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field. Sophomore midfielder Jack Lynch scored a first-half goal for Saint Anselm in defeat.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 7-4-1 (5-3-1 Northeast-10), while Saint Anselm falls to 3-8-0 (2-6-0 Northeast-10). Franklin Pierce has now won five of its last seven games after dropping back-to-back contests in the middle of September.

The two teams were tied at 1-1 at the half, and the scoreline remained level until the waning minutes of regulation on Tuesday night. In the 87th minute, the ball came to Appah on the left side, outside the top of the penalty area, and his feet went to work from there. Appah beat his defender at the top of the box, juked to get a shooting lane and put a shot inside the right post, beyond the outstretched finger tips of the diving goalkeeper.

It was the fifth goal of the season for Appah, who has tallied 13 points in the last seven games (5-3-13). After the game, Appah admitted the clock winding down was in his mind when he got the ball. When asked about the goal, he said "I didn't want to go to overtime; I just wanted to finish it off."

Earlier in the night, the teams traded first-half goals, with Saint Anselm scoring early and the Ravens answering late. In the fifth minute, Saint Anselm struck first, with the third goal of the campaign for sophomore midfielder Jack Lynch. The ball was sent to the top of the six-yard box from the left side by junior back Sean Smith and took an odd hop past the Franklin Pierce defender on the scene. Instead, the ball wound up at the feet of Lynch, who was at the top of the six-yard box, in front of the right post. He finished inside the right post to open the scoring.

Franklin Pierce used a 41st-minute penalty kick to even the score at 1-1 heading into halftime. Junior midfielder Lorris Cortijo (Paris, France) took the corner from the right-wing side and sent it long, beyond the left post. The only man on the other end of the service was junior forward Marius Preber (Jessheim, Norway), who volleyed it into the waiting net for his fifth goal of the year.

The Ravens controlled play for much of the contest, but the offense was snakebit, particularly in the first half. Over the opening 45 minutes, Franklin Pierce had shots ring off the post on four separate occasions. Appah also had a strong scoring chance punched away by the keeper after getting his head to a well-placed service from the midfield.

In all, Franklin Pierce finished the night with advantages of 21-9 in shot attempts, 9-2 in shots on goal and 13-2 in corner kicks. The game was somewhat chippy throughout, as the two sides combined for 25 fouls, including a few offenses which could have earned cards from a less-generous referee.

Freshman goalkeeper Jordan LeGuyader (Jersey, United Kingdom) faced only two shots on goal on Tuesday night and finished with one save to pick up the win (7-2-1) in net for Franklin Pierce. At the other end, sophomore Stephen McLeod was tested early and often and came away with seven stops, but suffered the loss (3-4-0) between the pipes for Saint Anselm.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Oct. 18, when they travel to Adelphi for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Motamed Field in Garden City, N.Y. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Tuesday, Oct. 28 against Merrimack at 7 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).