Preber nets fourth of season

RINDGE, N.H. (September 19, 2015) – Sophomore goalkeeper Jordan LeGuyader (Jersey, United Kingdom) stifled two solid scoring chances on Saturday night, but the third time was the charm for Stonehill at Sodexo Field. A corner-kick goal off the head of sophomore forward Adam Branco in the 63rd minute broke a 1-1 tie and stood as the difference in the Northeast-10 Conference contest, as the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team suffered a 2-1 defeat.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-2-0 (1-1-0 Northeast-10), while Stonehill improves to 4-2-0 (1-1-0 Northeast-10).

With the game locked at 1-1 beyond the hour mark, Stonehill generated its first strong scoring chance of the second half in the 63rd minute. The ball wound up with senior forward Drew Montano in the left-wing side of the box. Montano worked his way around one defender, to the edge of the six-yard box along the endline and put a nearly point-blank shot on target. LeGuyader, who had cut down the angle on the play, was able to get his body in front of the shot, but could not hold it and deflected the shot out of bounds instead.

Montano took the ensuing corner kick from the left-wing corner and served the ball to the top of the six-yard box, in front of the right post. Branco was able to get his head to the service and sent the ball back against the grain. LeGuyader appeared to get a piece of the header, but not enough to keep the ball from tucking inside the left post for Branco's third goal of the season, the eventual game-winner.

Franklin Pierce's best chance to tie the game in the final 25 minutes came in the 77th minute, when the crimson and grey were awarded a penalty kick. Graduate student midfielder David Magee (Lurgan, Ireland) stood over the attempt and his low shot beat Stonehill senior goalkeeper Luke Besse to the right post, but whistled just wide to leave the score at 2-1.

The second-half goal was Branco's second of the night, as he had also opened the game's scoring earlier, in the 19th minute. Stonehill was awarded a throw deep in the offensive end and put the ball in the hands of junior back Alexander Sarkis on the left-wing side. Sarkis took a running start and threw the ball to the top of the six-yard box, in front of the left post. Already on his way towards the goal, Branco was able to connect with the throw in stride and headed it inside the left post to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead.

The Skyhawks nearly doubled the lead to 2-0 in the 25th minute, as senior midfielder Richard Aprile got on a run down the right side of the field. Aprile seemingly turned on afterburners as he beat the last defender and separated on his way into the box. LeGuyader came off his line to challenge the sudden breakaway and forced a shot from about 15 yards out on the right side. Aprile looked to go to the right post, but a diving LeGuyader was able to smother the shot and keep the deficit at one goal.

Franklin Pierce equalized, with its lone goal of the night, in the 29th minute. In the aftermath of a free kick, Stonehill failed to effectively clear the defensive end, as the ball wound up on the feet of senior midfielder George Levantakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) at the top of the penalty area. Levantakis played the ball down the left-wing side of the box to senior forward Marius Preber (Jessheim, Norway), who finished his team-leading fourth goal of the season inside the left post from eight yards out.

Stonehill put together a 7-3 advantage in shot attempts in the first half, though Franklin Pierce answered with a 10-8 margin in the second half, leaving the Skyhawks with a 15-13 edge for the full 90 minutes. Stonehill did a better job of putting those shot attempts on target, as the Skyhawks held a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal.

LeGuyader (3-2-0) finished with eight saves against the 10 shots on goal in front of the net for Franklin pierce. Besse (2-2-0) made three saves against four shots on goal in the victory for Stonehill.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, Sept. 23, when they travel to American International for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Ronald J. Abdow Field in Springfield, Mass.

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 can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).