Recap by student-staff writer Colin Struckman 

RINDGE, N.H. (11/6/2023) – After a wild 90 minutes of regulation, two overtime periods, and a host of Penalty Kicks, the Franklin Pierce Men's Soccer program came out on top Saturday night in the quarterfinal matchup against the AIC Yellow Jackets. 

Score: Franklin Pierce 0, AIC 0 (2 OT), Franklin Pierce 5, AIC 4 (PKs)
Records: Franklin Pierce (15-0-1, 10-0 NE-10), AIC (2-6-9, 2-4-3 NE-10)
Location: Rindge, N.H. (Sodexo Field)
Date: 11/4/2023

HOW IT HAPPENED (Regulation):

· The Ravens threatened to score just 8:26 into the first half. Caleb Williams (Attleboro, Mass.) flicked a pass to Younes Addar (Castellon, Spain) who was robbed by Yellow Jacket defender Nicholas Chapman, stopping the shot in front of an open goal.

· Younes Addar provided another scoring chance for the Ravens, rifling a shot from his left foot from about 10 yards out, but was denied by Lucas Morales-Fernandez.

· The score would remain 0-0 after the first half.

· Aaron Sanchez (A Coruna, Spain) had a great look to end the game with under 15 minutes remaining in the second half but barely fired it wide.

· AIC would suffer a setback with Leonard Riby-Williams picking up a red card for a hard slide tackle on Addar, forcing the Yellow Jackets to play with 10 men for the remainder of the game.

· Joao Valente (Gaia, Portugal) set up Addar inside the box, but he was denied once again by Morales-Fernandez on a shot intended for the bottom right corner.

· Addar nearly made up for his valiant efforts with an incredible bicycle kick, but Morales-Fernandez made a miraculous save to keep the game scoreless and send it to extra time.

(Extra Time):

· Alvaro Rey Mira (Cabanas, Spain) nearly scored the game-winner for the Ravens with under 30 seconds in the first half of extra time, firing a shot off the crossbar.

· The Ravens continued to be on the verge of victory and had a golden opportunity in the second half of extra time with a penalty kick awarded due to a handball from Thom Hulshof. Aaron Sanchez fired a strike that went above the cage.

· Addar was right on the doorstep after an initial shot from Sanchez but couldn't poke it through.

· After 110 minutes of action, the game would end in a scoreless draw and have to be decided in penalty kicks.

(PKs):

· The Ravens were in a deep hole to begin PKs as Jeronimo Ferrando Ferri (Valencia, Spain) hit the right post and the Yellow Jackets snuck two goals past Diego Montoya Casillas (Cuernavaca, Mexico) to go up 2-0.

· Alvaro Rey Mira helped the Ravens climb back as he tucked a shot into the left corner to make it a 2-1 Yellow Jackets lead.

· Diego Montoya made a crucial save on Gabriele Valerio to give the Ravens some signs of life.

· Younes Addar got his revenge on Morales-Fernandez by burying a shot in the top right corner to tie it 2-2.

· Both teams continued to trade punches with Ali Taleb and Guihermano Afonso scoring for the Yellow Jackets and Rodrigo Parafita (A Coruna, Spain) and Aaron Sanchez scoring for the Ravens.

· In a battle of the keepers, Morales-Fernandez missed wide against Diego Montoya to give the Ravens a chance to win.

· Thomas Esperoe (Bremnes, Norway) provided the late-game heroics with a beautiful strike into the left corner to give the Ravens the 5-4 win in PKs.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS:

· The Ravens outshot the Yellow Jackets 17-4 with 13 shots coming in the second half.

· Lucas Morales-Fernandez made a remarkable 10 saves for the Yellow Jackets, Diego Montoya stopped 3 shots for the Ravens.

· The game was extremely chippy and physical with a combined 34 fouls, 19 coming from the Ravens and 15 coming from the Yellow Jackets.

NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: The Ravens will take on intra-conference rival Saint Anselm at Sodexo Field on Thursday afternoon in the NE-10 semifinal round, with kickoff at 4 p.m.