Freshman notches first career goals

MANCHESTER, N.H. (October 10, 2015) – With goals flying fast and furious in the first half, the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team opened up a 2-1 lead over Saint Anselm in the first 25 minutes at Melucci Field on Saturday afternoon. The Ravens would later add the only goal of the second half to notch a 3-1 road win in Northeast-10 Conference play.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-6-1 (2-5-1 Northeast-10) and snaps a six-game winless streak, while Saint Anselm falls to 3-7-1 (0-6-1 Northeast-10) and has lost seven straight.

The Ravens opened the scoring on Saturday in the 21st minute, with the first collegiate goal for freshman midfielder Victor DaCosta (Rehoboth, Mass.). He created his own offense on the play, as he took the ball up the right side and took a shot which was ultimately deflected into the net to make it 1-0 Franklin Pierce.

After his first, DaCosta would need just 76 seconds to find his second collegiate goal, as he struck again in the 22nd minute. This time, senior midfielder Lorris Cortijo (Paris, France) picked up an assist, as he dropped the ball into the box. DaCosta finished with a high touch to put the ball inside the right post.

The first-half flurry of scoring continued only 2:55 later, when Saint Anselm cut the gap to 2-1 in the 25th minute. Junior midfielder Eddie Conroy played the ball from the right flank in towards fellow junior midfielder Jack Lynch, who chipped the ball high for his third goal of the campaign.

The game would settle down from there, with the remainder of the first half and much of the second half going without further scoring. Along the way, Franklin Pierce piled up a 20-8 edge in shot attempts, which included a 10-5 edge in shots on goal.

The Ravens added an insurance marker in the 81st minute to create the 3-1 final. Graduate student midfielder David Magee (Lurgan, Ireland) took a free kick from a narrow angle near the right end line outside the penalty area and swung his service out front. Freshman back Jordan Barnett (Grimsby, England) got on the other end of the cross and finished to the lower-right corner for his second goal of the season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jordan LeGuyader (Jersey, United Kingdom) made four saves against five shots on goal to pick up the win (4-5-1) in net for Franklin Pierce. Junior goalkeeper Stephen McLeod (2-6-1) collected seven saves against 10 shots on goal while taking the loss for Saint Anselm.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, Oct. 13, when they return home to host Adelphi in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

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).