RINDGE, N.H. (October 17, 2018) – Franklin Pierce University men's soccer junior midfielder Noam Kolakofsky (Achziv, Israel) sure has a flair for the dramatic as he notched his fourth game-winning goal of the season during the Ravens 1-0 shutout of Northeast-10 Conference foe Merrimack College Wednesday evening on Sodexo Field. The loss drops the Warriors to 9-4-0, 6-4-0 NE10.

With the win, the Ravens sixth in a row evens up their mark to 7-7-0 and brings them two games above .500 in league play (6-4-0). Over the past month, the Ravens have climbed the basement of the NE10 standings to fourth place with 18 points. FPU is tied with Merrimack in the points column, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after their shutout victory.

84 minutes were played until a goal was finally scored. Sophomore midfielder Kidino Jones (Ocho Rios, Jamaica) ripped a cross from the left side into the box that was deflected and corralled by Kolakofsky. He cut through traffic, stopped and popped a shot high into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season. Merrimack would have no other great scoring chances to knot the score. Kolakofsky has recorded a point in five consecutive games.

In the 25th minute, a Raven player was fouled leading to a free kick opportunity 25 yards out for junior midfielder Jacob Maddox (Southborough, Mass.). Maddox took the kick and lofted a high arching shot that was feet over the cage and went out of play.

The Warriors best chance in the first half came during the 34th minute. Freshman forward Tola Showunmi got behind the Raven defense and streaked through the right side. He had a one-on-one opportunity with Raven keeper Jadel Poon-Lewis (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago). Poon-Lewis stood strong and took Showunmi's shot attempt off his face. The ball rebounded to Showunmi's foot and his second chance shot was punched away by the FPU netminder.

Five minutes into the second half, sophomore forward Filippo Begliardi Ghidini lined an attempt that clanked off the crossbar. The rebound found teammate Paul Magazzu and his shot went way high and out of play. Magazzu clinked another chance off the bar in the 80th minute before Lars Sund sent his rebound shot wide. Kolakofsky ended the battle four minutes later.

Poon-Lewis produced his second straight shutout win, fifth of the season and 12th of his collegiate career as he matched his season-high with six saves. Tyler Packett took the loss for Merrimack making six saves.

The Ravens face a stiff test on Saturday in their quest to extend their streak to seven matches. They travel to no. 13 nationally-ranked Adelphi University for a 4:00 p.m. first kick.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). 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 apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://fpuravens.com/store). You can also follow the men's soccer team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/fpumsoccer), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fpumsoccer/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpumsoccer/).