Bryant Stuns 
#14 Franklin Pierce, 2-0
Two early goals hand Ravens 
first Conference loss of the season

 RINDGE, N.H. (October 18, 2003) – Bryant College netted two goals within the first 14 minutes of the match and stunned Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 14 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, with a 2-0 victory in Northeast-10 Conference men’s soccer action at Bulldog Stadium this afternoon.

            Bryant, ranked seventh in the New England Region, hands Franklin Pierce, ranked second in New England, its first Conference loss of the season in ten matches and snaps a program record ten-match NE-10 regular season winning streak dating back to last season.

            The Bulldogs struck for both markers within in the opening 14 minutes of regulation and withstood the Ravens offensive pressure over the final 45 minutes to pull off the upset. Bryant out-shot Franklin Pierce by a 10-5 margin in the first half, but the Ravens posted a 5-3 shots advantage in the second and also attempted four corner kicks to one in the final half.

            Junior Michael Anania (Fall River, Mass./La Salle) put Bryant on top just 7:20 into the match when he converted a pass from senior Leroy Pottinger (Sharon, Mass./Sharon).

            The goal snapped Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Domenico Roma’s (Windsor, Ontario/Ste. Annes) shutout streak at 325:05 dating back to the Ravens 3-2 win over UMass Lowell on October 4.

            The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 2-0 at the 13:40 mark when freshman Wheeler Smith (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) found junior Ernest Baah (Worcester, Mass./South High Community) for his fifth goal of the season.

            Bryant junior James Purpura (Massapequa, N.Y./Kellenberg) made four saves, three second half, to post his third shutout of the season. Roma finished with five saves, all of which came in the opening half.

Franklin Pierce (9-4-1, 9-1 NE-10) returns to action on Wednesday for a key Conference match with Regional implications when it hosts No. 5 Southern Connecticut State University at 3:30 p.m. Bryant (8-6, 7-4 NE-10) hosts Assumption College on Friday at 3 p.m.

MATCH STATISTICS