NE-10 SEMIFINAL
Merrimack Stuns 
#4 Franklin Pierce, 1-0 (OT)
Dalboni winner sends fifth-seeded Warriors 
to NE-10 Championship match 
for first time since 1999

RINDGE, N.H. (October 31, 2007) – Fifth-seeded Merrimack College, ranked sixth in this week’s NSCAA/adidas Division II New England Region poll, will play for the Northeast-10 Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament Championship for the first time since 1999 after upsetting top-seeded and defending champion Franklin Pierce University, ranked fourth nationally, 1-0 in overtime, at Sodexho Field tonight.

            Merrimack (13-5-3, 6-4 3 NE-10) will battle third-seeded Southern Connecticut State University (13-2-4, 9-1-3 NE-10) for the NE-10 Championship in New Haven, Conn., on Saturday. Southern Connecticut State advanced with a 1-0 victory at second-seeded and No. 12-ranked University of Massachusetts Lowell (12-3-3, 10-2-1 NE-10) in tonight’s other NE-10 semifinal in Lowell, Mass. Franklin Pierce (13-2-3, 11-0-2 NE-10), which saw its 16-match unbeaten streak come to an end, is in good position to receive a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament berth when bids are announced on Monday, November 5.

            Junior forward Tiago Dalboni (Medford, Mass./Medford) netted the lone goal of the match 4:16 into overtime to send Merrimack through to the championship match. Senior midfielder Donnie Aylward (Groveland, Mass./Pentucker) sent a ball into the center of the penalty area and it found Dalboni, who deposited his shot into the upper left corner from ten yards out for his team-leading 11^th goal of the season. The victory avenged a 3-0 Franklin Pierce triumph over the Warriors in North Andover, Mass., during the regular season.

            Junior Rob Pedra (South Hamilton, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham) made three saves to preserve his ninth shutout of the season. Senior All-American James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) finished with one stop for Franklin Pierce.

            Merrimack’s goal came just moments after Franklin Pierce had a bid to claim the victory thwarted by the woodwork. Junior Frantz Francois (Saint-Marc, Haiti/Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.)) saw his shot from ten yards out carom off the bottom of the crossbar and away from the goal line. Francois got to the rebound, but Pedra stopped his second attempt.

            Franklin Pierce had the bulk of chances throughout the match, with Pedra coming up with big stops in each frame. Pedra dove to his left to stop a point-blank header by Raven post grad David Clifton (London, England) in the 72^nd minute off a corner kick. Pedra also made a diving stop on Clifton in the first half. Franklin Pierce out-shot Merrimack 11-4 for the match – including a 4-0 advantage in the first half.

            While Merrimack will make its first NE-10 Championship appearance in eight years, Franklin Pierce, winners of three-straight NE-10 regular season titles, sees its string of three-straight title match appearances halted. The Ravens last overtime loss was a 3-2 double-overtime decision to Barry University on Sodexho Field on September 2, 2005 – 13 overtime matches ago (2-0-11).

MATCH STATISTICS & PLAY-BY-PLAY