Franklin Pierce Nips Bentley Late, 1-0
Thorpe matches program's single-season shutout record with clean sheet
WALTHAM, Mass. (October 26, 2004) - Franklin Pierce, ranked fourth in the New England Region, rounded out its regular season schedule with a 1-0 victory over Bentley College in Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer action at the Bentley Athletic Complex this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (13-5, 10-3 NE-10) now gears up for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, likely needing to win the tournament title in order to have a chance at earning its tenth NCAA Tournament berth in program history. The fourth-seeded Ravens will host a quarterfinal round match against fifth-seeded Merrimack College on Sunday at 7 p.m., in the first night soccer match ever played on the Franklin Pierce campus. Bentley (7-8-2, 5-6-1 NE-10) must win its last match against the College of Saint Rose on Thursday (3 p.m.) to earn the final NE-10 Tournament spot and the right to visit top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Southern Connecticut State University on Sunday.
Freshman goalkeeper James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) again etched his name in the Franklin Pierce record books as his four saves this afternoon preserved his tenth shutout of the season, matching the record set by Marno Olafson in 1991. The clean sheet also enabled the Ravens to add to their record total for the season with their 12th of the year today.
Thorpe was called on for a tough save in the second half on a ten-yard shot by Bentley junior Mike Purpura (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) headed just inside the near post, which kept the match scoreless.
Grad student Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) pushed the Ravens in front in the 77th minute when sophomore Michael Adu-Gyamfi (Kumasi, Ghana) found him with a pass over the top of the Falcons defense. Joyce then fired a low shot past Bentley junior goalkeeper Gregg Ott (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) for his Conference-leading 16th marker of the season.
Bentley had an opportunity to knot the match with three minutes left in regulation, but Thorpe was up to the task on a shot from Falcon freshman Alan Kantapin (Manchester, N.H./Manchester West) from 18 yards.
Franklin Pierce freshman Gijs Roodbeen (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) had the best scoring chance in the opening half after a failed clearance by the Bentley defense, however his volley in the 25th minute was just wide.