RINDGE, N.H. (November 12, 2022) -- It was business as usual for the No. 1 nationally ranked and top-seeded Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team in the second round of NCAA Championship Super Region 1 play on Saturday night. The Ravens poured in four first-half goals and tacked on two more in the second period, to deal eighth-seeded and No. 21 Notre Dame (Ohio) a 6-2 defeat at Sodexo Field. Junior Vicente Valor Martinez (San Juan, Spain) led the charge with four points on a goal and two assists.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 21-0-1, and will host the third and quarterfinal rounds of the NCAA Championship next Thursday and Saturday, Nov. 17 and 19, at Sodexo Field. The Ravens will square off with fifth-seeded and No. 12 Davis & Elkins (16-2-1) in the third round on Thursday, while the other third-round matchup will feature second-seeded and No. 6 Charleston (W.Va.) (19-1-0) against sixth-seeded and No. 24 Post (16-3-2). More details on next weekend's tournament play will be made available in the coming days.

With the loss, Notre Dame sees its season, and its sixth all-time NCAA Championship appearance, come to a close at 16-5-2.

It was the Ravens early and it was the Ravens often on Saturday night. The hosts struck before the game was four minutes old and ran out a 4-0 lead over the first half-hour. The opener came via a penalty kick just 3:31 into the proceedings, after Notre Dame senior Kai Wagner hauled down graduate student Jonas Cervera Anchel (Chiva, Spain) in the right side of the penalty area on a partial breakaway. After a lengthy discussion to determine if Wagner deserved a red card -- he ultimately received a yellow -- sophomore Braudilio Rodrigues (Lisbon, Portugal) slotted the penalty into the left side of the net for his 20^th goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce doubled the lead in the 17^th minute. Off a short corner, Martinez swung the ball into the box for graduate student Jesus Gonzalez Diaz (Gilena, Spain), who headed his third of the year into the left side of the net.

Another pair of goals just 5:03 apart, in the 25^th and 31^st minutes, built the lead out to 4-0 heading into the intermission. In the 25^th minute, graduate student Miguel Secades Rodriguez (Langreo, Spain) banged home a rebound from the top of the six-yard box for his fifth of the campaign. In the 31^st minute, Martinez took a free kick 20 yards in front of the right post and tucked a shot into the upper-right corner for his fifth of the year.

The second half was largely academic after the first-half barrage, though the two sides traded two goals apiece. In the 52^nd minute, senior Rodrigo Parafita (Cerceda, Spain) picked the top-left corner from the left channel for his first of the season. In the 70^th minute, sophomore Carlos Almeida cleaned up a loose ball near the penalty spot to get Notre Dame on the board with his third of the season. In the 77^th, graduate student Miguel Angel Pastor Gutierrez (Valencia, Spain) finished from in front of the left post for his fourth of the year. Senior Kai Wagner capped the scoring in the 89^th minute, with a shot into the right side of the goal for his first of the year, to cut the final deficit to 6-2.

Senior Kosta Maniatis (Montreal, Quebec) finished with one save against three shots to pick up the win (16-0-1) in front of the Franklin Pierce net. Junior Pedro Alves (13-4-2) stopped three of nine shots in defeat for Notre Dame.