Balanced attack nets three different goal scorers

RINDGE, N.H. (September 12, 2015) – Having played its first two games on the road, the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team arrived back home with a bang on Saturday night at Sodexo Field. The Ravens scored twice in a raucous first 10 minutes as part of a three-goal first half, which led to a 3-1 win over Molloy in non-conference play. Graduate student midfielder David Magee (Lurgan, Ireland) put home the eventual game-winning goal on a 10th-minute penalty kick.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 2-1-0 (0-0-0 Northeast-10), while Molloy falls to 2-1-0 (0-0-0 East Coast).

Both teams came out trying to force the issue in the offensive end, which allowed the goals to start flowing before the entire assembled crowd had even settled into their seats at Sodexo Field. Franklin Pierce fired the opening salvo in the seventh minute, after being awarded a free kick about 25 yards from goal on the left side of the field. Freshman midfielder Lloyd Ross (London, England) took the kick and put it on goal. He was able to tuck his shot inside the left post, outside the range of the diving Molloy keeper, sophomore Stephen Tappeto. For Ross, it was his second goal of the season.

From there, the two teams traded penalty kicks in the 10th minute, as the high intensity level led to fouls inside the penalty area at each end of the field in quick succession. First, Molloy junior forward Mosiah Whyte salted his fourth goal of the season inside the right post on his penalty. Just 41 seconds later, Magee stood over a penalty for the Ravens and went right down the middle for his first goal of the campaign.

With the game 2-1 in favor of the Ravens, that would be it for scoring for the next half-hour. Franklin Pierce ultimately tacked on an insurance marker heading into the halftime break, pushing the lead to 3-1 in the 42nd minute. The ball wound up with senior forward Marius Preber (Jessheim, Norway) at the top of the six-yard box on the left side. His first attempt to put the ball home was knocked down by the defender marking him, but the ball dropped right back to his feet. Preber did not miss the second time, as he finished to the far side, inside the right post, for his second goal of the season.

After the flourish of scoring in the first half, the entirety of the second half went without another goal, as the Ravens wound up 3-1 winners. Molloy was able to control stretches of the second half, but the Franklin Pierce backline and sophomore goalkeeper Jordan LeGuyader (Jersey, United Kingdom) were equal to the task each time. The Lions held a 10-5 advantage in shot attempts in the second half and were able to put five of them on goal, each of which LeGuyader turned aside. Perhaps the most impressive save of the night for LeGuyader came in the 71st minute, as he dove to his left and swatted away a shot from 20 yards out by Molloy sophomore forward Lucas Munoz.

Tempers flared several times in the second half, as frustrations boiled over on both sides in the midst of the high-energy contest. Most notably was in the 70th minute, when a number of players from each side came together and exchanged words at midfield. The situation was diffused after no more than shoving between the two sides, and Franklin Pierce sophomore back Hamish Cadigan (Christchurch, New Zealand) was issued a yellow card. It was the only card of the night for Franklin Pierce, though Molloy picked up three along the way, including a card to the bench in the 90th minute, when a player not in the game took his frustrations out on the ball as it came across the touch line.

LeGuyader (2-1-0) finished with seven saves against eight shots on goal on the evening to pick up the win in front of the goal for Franklin Pierce. On the other side, Tappeto (2-1-0) made just one save, against four shots on goal, while taking the loss.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, Sept. 15, when they remain home to host Saint Michael's in their Northeast-10 Conference opener. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Sodexo Field.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). 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 men's soccer can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).