2004 NE-10 TOURNAMENT 
QUARTERFINAL
#4 Franklin Pierce Blanks 
#5 Merrimack, 2-0
Thorpe sets single-season shutout record 
as Ravens advance to semifinal round

RINDGE, N.H. (October 31, 2004) – Fourth-seeded Franklin Pierce took an early lead, and then iced the match late, in claiming a 2-0 victory over fifth-seeded Merrimack College in quarterfinal round action of the Northeast-10 Conference men’s soccer tournament tonight. The match was the first night match held on the Franklin Pierce campus in school history.

            Franklin Pierce (14-5, 10-3 NE-10) advances to Wednesday’s semifinal round where it will face top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn., at 7 p.m. Southern Connecticut advanced with a 4-0 victory over eighth-seeded Bentley College this afternoon. Merrimack College sees its season end at 13-5-1 overall (8-4-1 NE-10).            

While he was largely untested on the day, freshman goalkeeper James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) posted one save to preserve his 11^th shutout of the season to surpass the program’s single-season record of ten, set by Marno Olafson in 1991. The clean sheet added to the Ravens team record with their 13^th shutout of the season.

            Grad student Tom McNeil (Paisley, Scotland) assisted on both Franklin Pierce markers as the Ravens scored early, then iced the match with a late goal.

            McNeil stole a Merrimack clearing attempt in the 14^th minute, then spotted grad student Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) with a pass from the left side to Joyce for a blast from the right channel past senior goalkeeper Keith Boudreau (Forestdale, Mass./Sandwich) just 13:07 into the match.            

The early goal was a contrast to the regular season encounter between these two sides, which McNeil ended in the 100^th minute with the lone marker of the match.

            The Ravens controlled the match in the first half, enjoying an 11-2 advantage in shots, but Merrimack pushed forward for the equalizer in the second half and posted a 7-6 shots advantage in that stanza.

            Merrimack nearly drew even in the 53^rd minute off a Thorpe turnover deep in the Ravens end. Senior Diego Gabadian (Montevideo, Uraguay) collected the loose ball and dribbled into good position for a shot to a wide open net from the top of the penalty area, but the low roller was blocked by Franklin Pierce freshman back Michel Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) before it could cross the goal line.

            Franklin Pierce got an important insurance goal in the 80^th minute after Merrimack was whistled for a foul on the right flank 40-yards from goal. McNeil served the free kick in towards goal and found freshman Gijs Roodbeen (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) for a near post header that caught Boudreau out of position and rolled slowly over the goal line.

            Boudreau finished the match with four saves for Merrimack.