Franklin Pierce Blows By 
Saint Rose, 8-0
Joyce threatens goal record with four markers 
to lead the Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. (September 14, 2004) – Grad student Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) netted the first four goals of the match and Franklin Pierce, ranked fifth in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas New England Regional poll, never looked back in collecting an 8-0 victory over the College of Saint Rose in Northeast-10 Conference men’s soccer action this afternoon.

            Joyce scored all four of his markers in the opening 40-minutes of play to give Franklin Pierce a 4-0 advantage at the intermission. His four goal output was just one off the program record of five goals accomplished three times, most recently by former All-American Seamus Donnelly against Albany in 1996.

            Joyce opened the scoring just 3:08 into the contest when sophomore midfielder Michael Adu-Gyamfi (Kumasi, Ghana) sent him in one-on-one with Saint Rose senior goalkeeper Ryan Gingrich (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Seton Catholic) for a shot into the lower right corner of the net.            

Joyce’s second goal was nearly a carbon copy of the first as freshman Michel Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) this time sent him through as Joyce perfectly timed his run to beat the Golden Knights’ offside trap in the 18^th minute.

Joyce scored his third of the match in the 36^th minute with a header mid-goal off a corner kick from senior Troy McColl (Sydney, Australia). He finished off the double-brace in the 40^th minute when he took a square ball from sophomore Jason Grier (Norwell, Mass./Norwell), beat one defender, then fired a shot into the lower right corner.

Grier finished the match with a career-best three assists for the Ravens, while grad student Craig Stewart (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England) registered a goal and assist. Juniors Willie Hanlon (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) and Evan Luster (Newington, Conn./Newington) as well as grad student Tom McNeil (Paisley, Scotland) all netted markers for Franklin Pierce.

Freshman James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) and sophomore Joseph Luginsland (Ledyard, Conn./Ledyard) combined on the shutout in goal for Franklin Pierce. Thorpe posted one save in the first half, while Luginsland collected four second-half stops.

Gingrich and senior Peter Testa (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) split the goalkeeping duties for Saint Rose and each finished with seven stops in 45-minutes of action.

            Franklin Pierce (5-2, 2-0 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Saint Anselm College in a key Conference battle at 1 p.m. Saint Rose (0-4-1, 0-4 NE-10) visits Bentley College on Saturday at 3 p.m.