2004 NE-10 TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL #4 Franklin Pierce Blanks #5 Merrimack, 2-0
Thorpe sets single-season shutout record as Ravens advance to semifinal round
RINDGE, N.H. (October 31, 2004) - Fourth-seeded Franklin Pierce took an early lead, and then iced the match late, in claiming a 2-0 victory over fifth-seeded Merrimack College in quarterfinal round action of the Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer tournament tonight. The match was the first night match held on the Franklin Pierce campus in school history.
Franklin Pierce (14-5, 10-3 NE-10) advances to Wednesday's semifinal round where it will face top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn., at 7 p.m. Southern Connecticut advanced with a 4-0 victory over eighth-seeded Bentley College this afternoon. Merrimack College sees its season end at 13-5-1 overall (8-4-1 NE-10).
While he was largely untested on the day, freshman goalkeeper James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) posted one save to preserve his 11th shutout of the season to surpass the program's single-season record of ten, set by Marno Olafson in 1991. The clean sheet added to the Ravens team record with their 13th shutout of the season.
Grad student Tom McNeil (Paisley, Scotland) assisted on both Franklin Pierce markers as the Ravens scored early, then iced the match with a late goal.
McNeil stole a Merrimack clearing attempt in the 14th minute, then spotted grad student Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) with a pass from the left side to Joyce for a blast from the right channel past senior goalkeeper Keith Boudreau (Forestdale, Mass./Sandwich) just 13:07 into the match.
The early goal was a contrast to the regular season encounter between these two sides, which McNeil ended in the 100th minute with the lone marker of the match.
The Ravens controlled the match in the first half, enjoying an 11-2 advantage in shots, but Merrimack pushed forward for the equalizer in the second half and posted a 7-6 shots advantage in that stanza.
Merrimack nearly drew even in the 53rd minute off a Thorpe turnover deep in the Ravens end. Senior Diego Gabadian (Montevideo, Uraguay) collected the loose ball and dribbled into good position for a shot to a wide open net from the top of the penalty area, but the low roller was blocked by Franklin Pierce freshman back Michel Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) before it could cross the goal line.
Franklin Pierce got an important insurance goal in the 80th minute after Merrimack was whistled for a foul on the right flank 40-yards from goal. McNeil served the free kick in towards goal and found freshman Gijs Roodbeen (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) for a near post header that caught Boudreau out of position and rolled slowly over the goal line.
Boudreau finished the match with four saves for Merrimack.