#24 Franklin Pierce Edges Le Moyne, 1-0
Roma makes eight saves to preserve second-straight shutout

RINDGE, N.H. (September 27, 2003) – Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 24 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, remained perfect in Conference play with a 1-0 victory over Le Moyne College in Northeast-10 Conference men’s soccer action at Crystal Field this afternoon.

            Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Domenico Roma (Windsor, Ontario/Ste. Annes) made a season-high eight saves to run his season shutout streak to 274 minutes as he posted his second-straight shutout this afternoon. The shutout is the second of the season for Roma and tenth of his career at the College.

            After the two sides played through a scoreless first half, Franklin Pierce pushed in front 8:23 into the second half. Junior forward Mark Jansen (Enschede, The Netherlands) curled a cross from the far left flank that found classmate Kenneth Reid (Sarpsborg, Norway) near the center of the penalty area for a header into the lower left corner of the net.            

Franklin Pierce, ranked third in the New England region, registered a 22-16 advantage in shots for the match and had several top-notch chances fall by the wayside. Senior Felix Brillant (Montreal, Quebec/College Francais) broke in one-on-one with Le Moyne freshman goalkeeper Shawn Barker (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville), but fired his shot straight at the keeper in the 13^th minute.

            Freshman Timo Viitalla (Kokkola, Finland) nearly gave the Ravens a goal late in the first half, but Barker stopped him on the doorstep in the 42^nd minute.

            After Franklin Pierce forged in front, Le Moyne had a bid to equalize just three minutes later, but Roma made a fine leaping save of a shot from junior Scott Newman (Bethesda, Md./Winston Churchill). The Dolphins nearly forced overtime again in the 86^th minute, but junior Richard Shaw’s (Blackpool, England) low angle shot from close range clanged off the post and cross bar.

            Barker finished the match with seven saves for Le Moyne, which entered the match ranked ninth in the region.

Franklin Pierce (5-3-1, 5-0 NE-10) returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts the University of New Haven for a non-conference match at 3:30 p.m. Le Moyne (5-4, 3-3 NE-10) visits Houghton College for a non-conference match on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

MATCH STATISTICS