RINDGE, N.H. – After top-seeded Franklin Pierce University and No. 4 seed Southern New Hampshire University battled to a 1-1 tie in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer East Regional, the Ravens advanced by defeating the Penmen in a shootout 4-1. FPU advances to next weekend's national quarterfinals, where it will face either second-seeded Dowling or third-seeded Southern Connecticut. Franklin Pierce, with the game officially considered a tie, moves to 17-1-2, while the Penmen see their season come to a close at 12-3-5.
Franklin Pierce took a 1-0 lead in the first round of the shootout when Paul Latif made his attempt and Jon Brockway's (Lebanon, N.H.) shot was snuffed out by Raven keeper Vinny Papageorgiou. Both teams would make their second attempt, but the Ravens went up 3-1 when Tom Reilly was successful and Papageorgiou stopped another shot, this time by Mike Adam (Ludlow, Mass.). Franklin Pierce clinched moving on when Diego Tabares opened the fourth round with a successful attempt.
After a scoreless first half, Franklin Pierce took a 1-0 lead 4:19 into the second half. Jeff Hay, standing into the left corner, played a ball to Victor Goncalves standing in the middle of the box. Goncalves fired a low liner to the right corner that beat SNHU keeper Joey Kapinos (Ludlow, Mass.).
Southern New Hampshire tied the score in the 64th minute. Danny Hernandez (Salem, N.H.), marked by a Raven defender, headed a ball past Papageorgiou then fired it home into an empty net.
Papageorgiou made six saves for Franklin Pierce, while Kapinos turned aside a pair of shots. The Penmen held a slight 13-12 shot advantage, while the Ravens generated six corner kicks to SNHU's one.
