RINDGE, N.H. (11/5/22) – It was never a question of how for the top-ranked Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team, as they claimed their second consecutive Northeast-10 Championship title following a 2-0 victory over the seventh-seeded Le Moyne College Dolphins on Saturday evening at Sodexo Field. Both goals for the Ravens came in the second half from sophomore forward Braudilio Rodrigues (Lisbon, Portugal), who received the Northeast-10 Championship Most Valuable Player Award, also for the second straight year.  

The title comes as the fifth in program history for the Ravens, who continue to build upon their historic season with a 20-0-1 (10-0-1 NE10) record following the win. Le Moyne, following the finals loss, concludes their season with a 7-6-6 (3-4-4 NE10) record.  

The two teams would play through a relatively quiet first half was mostly quiet, as the top tier Raven offense clashed with a well-grounded Le Moyne defense. Through the first 45 minutes of action, the Ravens were able to squeeze eight shots through the solid Dolphin defensive effort, and would go on to carry the 8-0 shots advantage into the second half, with no goals scored.   

Finally, in the 55^th minute of the second half, Braudilio Rodrigues opened the scoring after his shot deflected off a Dolphin defender following a center from graduate Jero Ferrando Ferri (Valencia, Spain), breaking the silence for a 1-0 Raven lead. Rodrigues then returned to double the Raven lead just over thirteen minutes later, catching a perfectly placed pass behind the Le Moyne defenders from Vicente Valor Martinez (San Juan, Spain), sending a shot far post on a near breakaway, finalizing the offensive output at 2-0. Throughout the remainder of the half, the Ravens would take control of overall possession and drain out the remaining time.

Senior goalkeeper Kosta Maniatis (Montreal, Quebec) faced no direct threats in the title game, claiming his 12^th shutout victory of the season. Le Moyne netminder Josh Mahr made a single stop in the loss.

With the postgame announcement of the NE10 All-Championship Team, forward Braudilio Rodrigues and midfielders Vicente Valor Martinez and Miguel Secades Rodrigues (Langreo, Spain) were each named as Raven selectees. Additionally, junior defender Bernardo Prego (Evora, Portugal) was named the recipient of the Northeast-10's annual Elite-24 Award for the having highest cumulative GPA as a participant at the finals.

The win also grants Franklin Pierce the NE10's automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA Championship. The NCAA will officially announce the tournament field on Monday, November 7^th with the selection show at 6:30 p.m.