Ravens seeking second Final Four appearance in three years

RINDGE, N.H. (November 13, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team, ranked fourth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, will face its sternest test of the season as defending NCAA Division II National Champions Dowling College, ranked sixth nationally, visits Sodexho Field for an NCAA Quarterfinal match on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Franklin Pierce (15-2-3, 11-0-2 NE-10) advanced to this weekend’s quarterfinal round after capturing its third New England Region title in four years with a 3-1 victory over third-seeded and 12th-ranked University of Massachusetts Lowell on Saturday. Dowling (17-2-3, 6-0-3 ECC) reached the quarters after capturing its fifth Northeast Regional crown on Sunday.

Admission for Saturday’s match is $7 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and students with ID and $2 for children 12 and under. The contest will be broadcast live on WFPU-LP 105.3 FM and simulcast via the internet via www.franklinpierce/edu/athletics.

The match will mark the first collegiate meeting between brothers Henning and Marcus Comé (Göteborg, Sweden). Henning is Franklin Pierce’s second-leading scorer with 16 goals and four assists for 36 points, while Marcus leads Dowling with 12 goals to go with two assists for 26 points. The brothers appeared together in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of the October 29 issue of Sports Illustrated after they earned Player of the Week honors the same week in the Northeast-10 and East Coast Conferences, respectively.

Saturday is also a rematch of the 2004 National Quarterfinal, which Dowling won 1-0 on Long Island with a goal from All-American Morten Jensen in the 82nd minute. Saturday will mark the 11th meeting all-time between the two programs, the third ever in postseason play. Each team has won five meetings in the all-time series, but Dowling holds a 2-0 advantage in NCAA Tournament play and has captured three-straight encounters dating back to a 2-0 Franklin Pierce regular season victory on old Crystal Field on November 4, 1998. Saturday marks Dowling’s first ever visit to Sodexho Field, with the Golden Lions last trek to Rindge, N.H., coming on August 31, 2002 – a 3-2 Dowling win on Crystal Field.

Franklin Pierce, winners of a program-record three-straight Northeast-10 regular season championships, is making its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance (13th overall) and seeks its second NCAA Division II Final Four berth in three years (third in program history) on Saturday night. The Ravens boast the top offense in the Northeast-10 (10th nationally), averaging 2.75 goals per match, and also lead the NE-10 (10th nationally) with a 0.68 team goals against average.

Henning Comé and grad student David Clifton (London, England), the NE-10 Player of the Year, provide a potent offensive attack for Franklin Pierce. Clifton leads the NE-10 (2nd nationally) in scoring with 47 points and 22 goals to go with three assists. His five match-winning goals lead the team, along with Comé, and are good for second in the NE-10. Comé ranks second among NE-10 leaders to his teammate with his 36 points (23rd nationally) and 16 goals (18th) to go with four assists.

Clifton enters this weekend with five hat tricks this season after his two in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. He is just one goal shy of the NCAA Division II Tournament record of seven set by Lee Paul Scroggins of Lynn University in 2005.

Seniors Mike Lima (Ludlow, Mass./Ludlow) and Michel Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) share the team lead with eight assists (5th NE-10) this season and are part of the top defensive unit in the NE-10. Senior All-American Bisharra Ettienne (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Dominica State College), the two-time NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman Adit Phataraprasit (Bangkok, Thailand), the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the New England Regional, are also expected to start on the Ravens backline this weekend.

Senior All-American James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy), the only four-time NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year in Conference history, is the backbone of the Franklin Pierce defense. He leads the Conference with ten shutouts (47 career) and is second with a 0.68 GAA (10th nationally) and sixth with a .767 save percentage.

Dowling, making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, seeks its fifth Final Four berth in six seasons this weekend. The Golden Knights reached the quarters with a 4-0 victory over ECC rival New York Institute of Technology, in East Stroudsburg, Pa., on Sunday after posting a 2-0 triumph over the University of Bridgeport in Friday’s opening round.

In addition to Marcus Comé, freshman Junior Laurencin (St. Lucia) leads Dowling with 29 points on 11 goals (team-best six match-winners) and seven assists. Senior Ahmadoul Gaye (Dakar, Senegal) has contributed ten goals and four assists for 24 points, while senior Thomas Vaaland (Stavanger, Norway) has totaled four goals and a team-best eight assists for 16 points.

Junior goalkeeper Nemanja Veljovic (Belgrade, Serbia) ranks second among NCAA Division II leaders with a 0.49 goals against average to go with a .855 save percentage (10th nationally) and eight shutouts in 1,851:54 over 20 matches played (19 starts).

The winner of this weekend’s quarterfinal will advance to the NCAA Division II Final Four, hosted by the University of West Florida, November 30 and December 2 in Orange Beach, Ala., to play the winner of this weekend’s quarterfinal between Sonoma State University (19-3-2) and Midwestern State University (18-3-0).


2007 NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship

Quarterfinals

Saturday, November 17 (All times EST)
#18 Montevallo (17-3-2) at #2 Lees-McRae (21-1-1), 7 p.m.
#6 Dowling (17-2-3) at #4 Franklin Pierce (15-2-3), 7 p.m.
#11 Sonoma State (19-3-2) at #7 Midwestern State (18-3-0), 8 p.m.

Sunday, November 18 (All times EST)
#16 Lincoln Memorial (18-3-1) at #1 Northern Kentucky (22-1-0), 2 p.m.

Final Four & Championship
Hosted by University of West Florida
Orange Beach (Ala.) SportsPlex

Friday, November 30
National Semifinals
Montevallo/Lees-McRae winner vs. Lincoln Memorial/Northern Kentucky winner, TBA
Dowling/Franklin Pierce winner vs. Sonoma State/Midwestern State winner, TBA

Sunday, December 2
National Championship, TBA