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Men's and Women's Soccer
gears up gears up for
Northeast-10 Tournament
by David Vishniac
Exchange Staff
The Franklin Pierce Men's and Women's Soccer teams will once again be hosting postseason matches at Sodexo Field as the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament kicks off with quarterfinal matches this weekend.
The top-seeded Women's Soccer team is scheduled to host eighth-seeded Saint Anselm College on Sunday, November 2 at 1 p.m. The third-seeded Men's Soccer team will also play on Sunday, hosting sixth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University Owls at 4 p.m.
The Women's Soccer team finished tied for first place in the conference with The College of Saint Rose, both teams finishing at 11-2-1. Franklin Pierce picked up a key victory on Wednesday, defeating Stonehill 3-0. The Ravens earned the top seed in the conference tournament with a 1-0 victory over the Golden Knights earlier in the year.
The Ravens and Hawks last met on October 1 at Sodexo Field, with Franklin Pierce coming away with a 4-0 victory. Sophomore Angelika Johansson scored a goal in the win, while seniors Kelly Johnson and Kirsten Cilley each posted a goal and assist. Junior Rachel Smith added a goal, while junior Gabriela Demoner dished two assists. The Ravens' defense only allowed two shots for the Hawks in the match.
Franklin Pierce has seen tremendous offense from Johansson and Demoner. Johansson leads the Northeast-10 with 24 goals to go along with four assists. Her goal total and 52 points lead all of Division II. Demoner has dished out a conference-leading nine assists to go along with six goals, as well as sophomore Jennifer Pearl of Saint Anselm. Senior Kelly Sisco has netted four goals while Johnson has collected two goals and five assists. Senior Brittany Ester has been tremendous in goal for the Ravens, posting a 0.87 goals against average and a conference-best 7 shutouts.
Saint Anselm enters the postseason with scoring production spread out over several players. Pearl leads the Hawks with six goals and nine assists. Junior Mary Kate Heavey and freshman Teresa Vercollone have each collected five goals and two assists, while senior Kathleen Kennerly has scored four goals and two assists. Senior Micaela Smith and sophomore Jacqueline Cooney have split the goalkeeping duties for the Hawks this season. In 14 matches played in Cooney has posted a 1.19 GAA, while Smith has posted a 2.26 GAA in 10 matches.
The Men's Soccer team is coming off a disappointing 3-2 defeat to American International College on Wednesday, but the Ravens still clinched a home field postseason match by finishing the regular season at 9-3-1 in the conference and 11-7-1 overall.
In the last meeting between the Ravens and Owls the two teams played to a scoreless draw on September 20 this year at Sodexo Field. Junior midfielder Kensaku Tsuji led the defending 2007 National Champions with four shots, while senior Cole Larned and freshman Viktor Goncalves each had two shots. Senior Ancil Farrier and sophomore Paul Templeton led the Owls with two shots each. Freshman Andrew Esposito made six saves in goal for Southern Connecticut, while freshman Vinny Papageorgiou made three saves for the Ravens.
Franklin Pierce has been led offensively this season by Goncalves, who has collected 11 goals and 5 assists. His 11 goals lead the Northeast-10 along with Matthew Pecheone of Le Moyne and Sam Lamptey of Saint Anselm. Senior Frantz Francois has scored four goals this season to go along with three assists. Tsuji leads the Ravens with six assists, good for second in the conference along with Matias Pietropinto of UMass Lowell and Eric Heuze of Bentley. Papageorgiou has seen the most time in goal for Franklin Pierce, starting 13 matches and compiling an 0.85 goals against average, second only to Sean Lambert of Southern New Hampshire University. His six shutouts are good for fourth in the conference.
Southern Connecticut is led offensively by Templeton's seven goals and three assists. Farrier and sophomore Aazin Langroudi have each tallied three goals this year. Esposito has collected a 1.04 GAA to go along with seven shutouts for the Owls.
Franklin Pierce has been fortunate for the past three years, as the Ravens have not been away from Sodexo Field for postseason matches besides the Final Four since 2005. In 2004 the Ravens were eliminated by Dowling College from the NCAA Tournament in New York. The Ravens can extend the streak with a win on Sunday and a loss from Southern New Hampshire.
Both matches can be heard live on the Ravens
Sports Network, WFPC-LP 105.3FM and on the internet at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu, beginning approximately 10 minutes before
match time.
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