Men’s Soccer Falls To No. 2 Franklin Pierce 4-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Franklin Pierce (15-0-1, 11-0-1 NE-10) | 2 | 2 | 4 |
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Bentley (9-5-2, 7-4-1 NE-10) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
WALTHAM, Mass. - Despite taking a 1-0 first half lead, No. 2 Franklin Pierce was too much for the Bentley men's soccer team as the Ravens continued their unbeaten season with a 4-2 victory that clinched the Northeast-10 regular season title.
Bentley was shot less for the first 19 minutes, but converted its first scoring chance off a corner kick from senior Matt Solomon (Avon, Conn./Avon Old Farms). Solomon swung his kick into the box, and junior Weston Zeiner (North Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial) was there on the far post to head it under goalie Vinny Papageorgiou for a 1-0 lead.
That lead was short-lived however, as Franklin Pierce equalized in the 23rd minute on Diego Tabares' eight goal of the season. Tabares made a run down the left wing and goalie Matt Reynolds (Nashua, N.H./Bishop Guertin) came out to challenge him, but Tabares chipped it over him for the goal.
In the 31st minute graduate student back Daniel Donaldson scored the first of his two goals to put the Ravens up 2-1, heading in a corner from inside the six-yard box.
Bentley's second best chance of the match came right before halftime, as freshman Michael Dias (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) found himself all alone on the far post to head a cross, but Papageorgiou was there to knock it away.
The second half offered few scoring chances for either team until the final 16-plus minutes when Franklin Pierce put the game away.
Donaldson scored his second in the 74th minute off another corner, and less than three minutes later, junior Greg Giguere made it 4-1 for the Ravens after a through ball from Amory Houghton in midfield sprung him for a breakaway.
Senior Eric Ulmer (Woodbury, N.J./Woodbury) pulled one back for the Falcons in the 80th minute, firing in a shot from 15 yards off a loose ball. That tied him for the team lead with five goals on the season.
Franklin Pierce improves to 15-0-1 overall and 11-0-1 in the NE-10 with the win, while the Falcons drop to 9-5-2 and 7-4-1. They wrap-up the regular season on Friday at home against Southern Connecticut on Senior Day.