Men's Soccer Season Underway in Northeast-10
Southern New Hampshire tied with Assumption and Bentley for first
Sep 14, 2009
Not much time has passed, but the 2009 Northeast-10 Conference Men’s Soccer season is underway, and already it’s a close race at the top of the standings. Here is a look at how the projected top three teams are fairing so far.
Southern New Hampshire University
The Southern New Hampshire University Penmen have met the expectations so far, going 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the NE-10. The lone loss, a 2-1 setback, came against Dowling College on August 29 in overtime. A key win came against Franklin Pierce, the team picked to finish second in the standings in 2009.
The offense for the Penmen has been productive, taking 121 shots and scoring 12 goals. Adrian Schippers has scored four goals and one assist for nine points, while Kevin Woods and Christian Rodriguez have each scored two goals. Daniel Hernandez leads the team with three assists to go along with a goal. Sean Lambert has seen all but 22 minutes in goal, allowing only three goals for a 0.52 goals-against average.
The offense has been busy for SNHU, taking 121 shots and scoring 12 goals. The defense has been equally busy, only allowing three goals.
Franklin Pierce University
It has been an up and down three weeks for the Franklin Pierce Ravens. The team began the year on a very high note, upsetting the No. 2 Dowling College Golden Lions 3-0 at home, but have only won twice since then, defeating Molloy College 4-3 and Saint Michael’s College 2-0. The Ravens fell to C.W. Post 1-0, drew scoreless with University of Bridgeport and lost at Southern New Hampshire 2-0. Franklin Pierce has two more home games this week before they go on the road for five games and don’t return home until October 10.
Diego Tabares leads the Ravens with three goals and one assist for seven points, while Frantz Francois has two goals. Four other Ravens have tallied a goal, as well. Transfer student Alexander Pilitsis has started four matches in goal, allowing four goals for a 0.93 goals-against average while making 16 saves and posting two shutouts. Franklin Pierce has allowed quite a number of shots, letting opponents take 82 shots compared to 97 themselves.
The Ravens are in the middle of the pack at 1-1 in the conference, tied with three other teams.
University of Massachusetts-Lowell
The Riverhawks are currently tied for second in the conference with Southern Connecticut State University at 1-0. UMass-Lowell has only scored five goals this season, although they have only played three games this year, including a 3-2 double-overtime upset win over Dowling College. The Riverhawks are led by Stephen Potcner with three goals and one assist for seven points, while Jeffrey Danso and Rudy Kocandrle have each netted a goal.
Ryan Richards has seen all of the action in goal, allowing five goals for a 1.56 GAA while making 11 stops. He also has one shutout to his credit.
For more information on the teams through the first few weeks of the season, check out the Northeast-10 Conference website.
