#6 Franklin Pierce and Southern Connecticut
Play to Scoreless Draw
Ravens clinch third-straight NE-10 regular season title; Thorpe breaks NCAA Division II career minutes record

RINDGE, N.H. (October 17, 2007) – Franklin Pierce University, ranked sixth in this week’s National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II coaches’ poll, clinched its third-straight Northeast-10 Conference men’s soccer regular season championship with a 0-0 double-overtime draw with Southern Connecticut State University, among team’s receiving votes in this week’s national poll, at Sodexho Field tonight.

            Franklin Pierce extends its unbeaten streak to 14 matches with the tie and is also now unbeaten over its last 26 NE-10 regular season home matches (24-0-2) dating back to a 3-2 double-overtime setback to Southern Connecticut in October 2003. The Ravens have compiled a three-year NE-10 regular season record of 31-2-5 over its three-year run of NE-10 regular season titles – its longest streak of championships in program history.

            Senior All-American James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) again entered his name in the record books, breaking the NCAA Division II career record for minutes played by a goalkeeper. He surpassed former Southern Connecticut All-American Bo Oshoniyi’s (1990-93) previous mark of 7,580 minutes at the 43:06-mark of the first half. Thorpe has now played 7,646:55 over his stellar four-year career at Franklin Pierce. He also posted his eighth shutout of the season (45^th career) without making a save on the night.

            Southern Connecticut senior goalkeeper Brendan Lawless (Orleans, Mass./Nauset) posted his fifth shutout of the season without recording a save. Franklin Pierce finished with a 7-3 advantage in shots in the tightly contested match, including a 6-2 edge after halftime.

            Franklin Pierce nearly turned a shot into its own net off a corner kick in the 32^nd minute when Thorpe mis-struck his clearing attempt, but senior midfielder Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga, Ontario/York University) cleared the ball inside the goal box to end the threat. The Ravens had a few chances which didn’t show up on the stat sheet, failing to connect with crucial passes inside the penalty area in the second half. Grad student David Clifton (London, England) also had a pair of second half shots blocked or deflected by defenders.

            Southern nearly scored against the run of play in the 85^th minute, but senior Colin Jackson’s (Hartford, Conn./Manchester CC) chip from 15-yards out on the right side just dropped behind the upper left corner of the net.  

Franklin Pierce (11-1-3, 10-0-2 NE-10) closes out the regular season on Saturday at The College of Saint Rose at 1 p.m. The Ravens will host an NE-10 quarterfinal on Sunday, October 28, time and opponent will be announced at the conclusion of the regular season. Southern Connecticut (10-2-4, 8-1-3 NE-10) rounds out its regular season at Merrimack College on Saturday at 7 p.m.

MATCH STATISTICS & PLAY-BY-PLAY