ERIE, Pa. (December 6, 2019) – The no. 18 nationally-ranked Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team won their second match of the 2019 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament, a 2-1 double-overtime victory against Post University on Thursday morning. The win propelled them to the Super Region 1 – Quarterfinal game with the chance to go to the Final Four on the line Saturday at 2:00 p.m. versus no. 10 nationally-ranked Charleston (W. Va.) on the campus of Gannon University.

FPU heads back to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2011 where they upended Northeast-10 Conference opponent Southern New Hampshire University 1-0 on Saturday, November 19th on their home pitch, Sodexo Field to capture the regional championship.

Franklin Pierce makes its 20th appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Overall, FPU is 17-18-1 in the NCAA Tournament, however that mark is 14-8-3 since 2005. They fair a lot better at home (10-3-2) than on the road (1-10-1) in the tournament while they are 6-5-1 on neutral sites. Franklin Pierce has never met Charleston (W. Va.) in the NCAA Tournament. Pierce is still in search of their second Division II National Championship, a feat they last accomplished in 2007.

Charleston (W. Va.), the no 3 seed in the Super Region is no stranger to the NCAA tourney. They are the 2017 Division II National Champions as they defeated Lynn University in PK's and were the runner-up squad in 2014 suffering a 3-2 setback to Lynn and a 2-0 loss to Wingate University in 2016. In 1999 and 2015, they reached the National Semifinals.

SCOUTING THE RAVENS

The Ravens earned an at-large bid and the no. 4 seed in the Super Region 1 after finishing head coach Ruben Resendes first year as coach with a 15-3-2, 10-2-0 NE10 record including an undefeated 10-0-1 on their home pitch.

FPU finished the month of September 4-1-1 before falling to Le Moyne College 2-0 on the road. They responded with their first four-game winning-streak of the season scoring 14 goals and allowing only one over that stretch. They then lost to Bentley University 2-1, their first setback to the Falcons since 2013, but they responded claiming the next five matches (15 goals for, two goals against) including a dominant upset against no. 2 nationally-ranked Adelphi University and a 5-1 drubbing of Bentley in the NE10 Quarterfinal Round. FPU tied the College of Saint Rose in the NE10 Semifinal round and lost in the shootout 5-4 ending their run in the conference tournament. They then went on to defeat the offensive juggernaut #8 Wilmington (Del.) Wildcats 1-0 in the NCAA Second Round to advance to the Third Round of the tournament where they dispatched Post University 2-1 in double-overtime.

Pierce has one of the most dominant defensive units in the nation, led by 2019 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CAA) All-East Region First Team and Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year Carlos Ferrando Felis (Tavernes de la Valldigna, Spain). They have 10 shutout victories on the season and have allowed only 13 goals all year with seven coming in conference play. They have allowed an average of (0.63) goals per game which ranks them sixth in Division II out of 212 programs.

On offense, the Ravens are currently paced by graduate midfielder Javier García Borrás (Alzira, Spain), an All-NE10 Second Team selection. García Borrás carries the crimson and grey in assists (9), points (21), and game-winning goals (4) while he comes in at third on the team in shots (48), shots on goal (21) and fourth in goals (6). His nine assists leads the conference while his four game-winning scores are tied for second in the league and his 21 points place him in a deadlock for fifth. He came up clutch in the Third Round double-overtime victory converting the game-winning penalty shot. Junior forward Yannik Felber (Vallendar, Germany), a 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-America® First Team member and two-time NE10 Player of the Week has been on a tear over his last six games, all starts. Felber has scored six goals and tallied one assist including a two-goal and one assist effort in the 4-1 win against previously no. 2 ranked Adelphi. He also tallied his first career hat trick in a 5-1 NE10 Championship win against Bentley back on November 9th.

The goalkeeper tandem of senior Jadel Poon-Lewis (Diego Martin, Trinidad, and Tobago) and graduate student Clay Thomas (Franklin, Tenn.) coupled with their suffocating backline has been key to their success defensively. Poon-Lewis easily set a new career-low in goals allowed (2) and goals-against average (0.27) as he is atop the conference leaderboard in both categories. He also leads the NE10 in shutouts (5). Thomas, a transfer from the University of Vermont (3rd all-time in GAA. 0.77), and an NE10 All-Conference Third Team choice, picked up right where he left off with the Catamounts ranking second behind his teammate in goals-against average (0.78), third in goals allowed (10) and tied for third in shutouts (4/1).

As a team, the Ravens scoring offense ranks 24th (2.25 goals/gm) in Division II while they contribute the 13th most shots per game (16.6) and the 10th most shots on goal (7.85).

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

The Golden Eagles enter the tournament as the no. 3 seed in the first Super Region after finishing the 2019 slate, head coach Dan Stratford's third year as head honcho and sixth season with the program (19-2-1, 15-0-1 MEC). Stratford was named the Mountain East Conference (MEC) 2019 Coach of the Year when awards were announced a few weeks ago. They finished first in the MEC Regular Season standings earning the no. 1 seed in the conference dance. They scored seven goals and did not allow one in both of their games shutting out no. 4 seed Urbana University 3-0 and winning their second straight and sixth overall MEC title in seven years (2013-2016, 2018, 2019) since the formation of the conference in 2013 with a 4-0 win against Notre Dame College.

Charleston (W. Va.) has shutout both of the teams they have faced so far in the NCAA Tournament. They played a Second Round game versus no. 6 seed Mercy College and won by a 5-0 margin. They then beat host and no. 5 nationally-ranked and no. 2 seed Gannon 3-0 on Thursday to advance to play for the Super Region 1 Title. The Golden Eagles, in fact, have not allowed a goal in over a month as they last let a team score on them during a 6-1 win Saturday, November 2nd at Frostburg State University. They have only given up seven goals all season and have never allowed more than one goal a match.

MEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-MEC First Team athlete Jordi Ramon leads them defensively. He is the third different Charleston player in as many seasons to bring home the Defensive Player of the Year trophy. He stabilizes a backline that has posted 15 shutout victories and a goals-against average of 0.32 that is first in the country.

Offensively, Ettore Ballestracci has a team-best 27 points and nine assists with nine goals. The senior forward is an All-MEC Second Team selection and he comes in at tied for 11th in the nation with the nine assists. Charleston has three double-digit goal scorers, MEC First Team forward Freddy Tracey (11), First Team midfielder Christos Charalambous (10) and Gabriel Rodriguez (10). Five of their offensive players also come in with 20 or more points.

As a team, the Golden Eagles rank first in the nation in goals-against average (0.32), second in the United States of America in scoring offense (3.64), total goals (80), points per game (10.09), total points (222), shots on goal per game (9.27) and third in total assists (62).  

MATCHUP HISTORY

Head-to-head, this will mark the first time these two programs have met on a soccer pitch.

HEADING TO THE GAME?

If you are planning on heading to the game here are the directions to the McConnell Family Stadium in Erie, Pa.

You will be required to pay a small gate fee to enter the stadium the prices are (cash only)…

Adults…..$5.00

Students, Children (ages 2-12) & Seniors…..$3.00

Children under two-years-old will be admitted free of charge.

WHERE TO WATCH

Can't make it to the game? Gannon University has you covered with live stats and free video. Click the links below to access the live stats and video.

LIVE STATS | VIDEO | DII MEN'S SOCCER INTERACTIVE BRACKET | PRINTABLE BRACKET

You can also view their championship central page by clicking here.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The winner of this contest will advance to play the victor of the Wingate/Lynn bout in the National Semifinals (Final Four) at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa. Thursday, December 12th.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). 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 apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://shopfpuravens.com). You can also follow the men's soccer team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/fpumsoccer), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fpumsoccer/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpumsoccer/).