FRANKLIN PIERCE
LABOR DAY CLASSIC
Nyack Rallies to Draw
#24 Franklin Pierce,
2-2 (2OT)
Warriors erase 2-0 halftime deficit
with second half strikes, Thorpe preserves draw with late penalty save

RINDGE, N.H. (September 1, 2007) – Nyack College scored twice in the second half to erase a two-goal halftime deficit and held on to draw Franklin Pierce University, ranked 24^th in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II men’s soccer poll, 2-2 in double-overtime in the final match of the 2007 Franklin Pierce Labor Day Classic on Sodexho Field tonight.

            Senior midfielder Tim Conway (Billerica, Mass.) converted a penalty kick at 67:45 to cap Nyack’s comeback from a two-goal deficit at halftime. He was awarded the kick after a teammate was tripped up on the left side of the penalty area just moments after Franklin Pierce senior captain Michel Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) missed his second penalty kick of the night in the 67^th minute.           

Conway was awarded a second penalty in the 81^st minute, which would have given Nyack the victory, but senior All-American goalkeeper James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) got a hand to the ball to his right that kept the match level. Thorpe has now stopped 14 penalties over his collegiate career and guessed right on Conway’s first PK, but was just unable to prevent it from crossing the goal line.

            Thorpe finished with two saves for Franklin Pierce, while sophomore Peter Murphy (Cape Coral, Fla.) collected eight stops, including two penalty kicks on the night, to preserve the draw. Franklin Pierce enjoyed a 17-9 advantage in shots for the match, including 7-2 in the first half and 4-2 over the two extra frames.

            Freshman Johan Torstensson (Falkoping, Sweden) opened the scoring with his first Franklin Pierce goal, when he pounced on the rebound off Vitulano’s first penalty miss in the 13^th minute and fired the loose ball into the right side of the net. The Ravens doubled their advantage in the 25^th minute when sophomore Henning Comé (Gothenburg, Sweden) received a nice through ball from senior Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga, Ontario/York University) and drilled a shot from 15-yards out into the right side of the net.           

Nyack cut the lead in half at 62:37 when freshman Daniel Ocampo (Mexico City, Mexico) headed in a serve by sophomore Baba Fatoba (Toronto, Ontario) from eight yards out.

            Franklin Pierce had the best chance to pull out the victory in the closing seconds of the first overtime. Junior Cole Larned (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) saw a drive off a free kick stopped by Murphy after squirting through traffic with 35-seconds to play. Comé collected the rebound, but Murphy recovered well to smother the bid.

            BOXSCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY