RINDGE, N.H. - - A goal in the 55th minute turned out to be the only mark of the match, as fourth seeded Franklin Pierce defeated the fifth seeded Wilmington University men's soccer team, 1-0, in the Second Round of the NCAA Super Region 1 Tournament on Saturday night at Sodexo Field.
The loss ends a record breaking season for the Wildcats, as they finished with a 17-3-1 overall and set program and conference marks for goals, assists, and points on the year. The win allows Franklin Pierce (14-3-2) to advance to the Third Round and will face No. 9 Post who upset No. 1 Adelphi, 1-0, on Saturday night as well.
A scoreless first half was not without action, as both teams had chances to get on the board. Franklin Pierce got three shots off in a three-minute span, but Gabriel Prgomet made all three stops to keep it scoreless 16:33 in to the contest. The Ravens had a chance off a free kick in the 31st minute, but a sprawling Prgomet made the stop while diving to this right to again keep the Ravens off the board.
The Wildcats best chance came late in the first half, as Mamadou Diombera slipped through on the right side, but his low shot to the far post was guided wide by the Ravens' netminder Jadel Poon-Lewis. The teams went into the break scoreless.
The Wildcats came out and put the pressure on early in the second half, but were unable to get a shot off in the early going. It was Franklin Pierce that countered and scored in the 55th minute. On the counter, Javier Garcia Borras played a long through ball down the right side. Antonio Ferreira took a touch and blasted a shot high and past Prgomet for the 1-0 lead 54:48 into the match.
Keith Sanderson nearly tied the game with a long ball, as his lofted attempt nearly dropped under the crossbar. Poon-Lewis needed to knock it over the crossbar for a Wilmington corner, but the ball was knocked out and another long distance attempt missed everything.
Shawn Genus put the last shot on goal for the Wildcats in the 78th minute, but that was again stopped by Jadel Poon-Lewis. Taiki Kinugawa also had an attempt that was just high, but that was the best final chance for the Wildcats in the contest.
The team's tied in shots, 15-15, but the Wildcats led in corners, 6-4. Gabriel Prgomet made eight saves for the Wildcats while Poon-Lewis made all six saves for the shutout for the Ravens. Abdul Mansaray led the Wildcats with four shots, two of which were on goal.
The 17 wins are the second most in program history, second only to the 2009 team that won 19 games. The Wildcats scored a record 91 goals on the year while adding a record 78 assists.
