No. 25 Men's Soccer Plays Franklin Pierce Tuesday
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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The No. 25 Merrimack College men's soccer team travels to Franklin Pierce on Tuesday night for a Northeast-10 matchup with the Ravens at 7 p.m. With a victory, Merrimack will extend its winning streak to a season-long five games.
The Basics
Date/Time: 10/28 | 7 p.m.
Records: Merrimack (11-2-2, 7-2-2 NE-10) | Franklin Pierce (8-5-1, 6-4-1 NE-10)
Location: Sodexo Field | Rindge, N.H.
Last Time Out:
The Warriors scored the most goals in a game since 2008 as Merrimack defeated American International College, 7-0, in Springfield, Mass. on Saturday.
The last time the program tallied at least six goals was against Stonehill College six seasons ago. Five different Warriors scored, led by sophomore Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) who scored twice.
In the first half, senior Michael Rincon (Medford, Mass.) picked up the lone assist on freshman Juan Meza's (Cali, Colombia) second goal of the season. The helper was Rincon's team leading 14th point on the year and he now sits atop the conference rankings with eight assists.
The other goal scorers for the Warriors included seniors Michael Buraczynski (Littleton, Mass.) and Ryan Miller (Holden, Mass.), as well as freshmen Michael Dushman (Bedford, Mass.) and Rui Cardoso (Bristol, Conn.).
Freshman Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) and redshirt sophomore Felipe Guimaraes (Haverhill, Mass.) picked up their first career points as each player recorded an assist.
Last Season vs. Franklin Pierce:
Merrimack played Franklin Pierce twice last season as the Warriors drew with the Ravens, 0-0, in the regular season, and then the programs met up in the NE-10 Semifinals.
The postseason contest played out similarly to the regular season matchup. After 110 minutes, neither team scored, sending the contest to penalty kicks. The Warriors prevailed in the shootout, 4-2, to advance to the NE-10 Championship.
Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.), Julio Leon Garcia (Caracas, Venezuela) and Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico) were amongst the players who scored in PK's for Merrimack. Senior goalkeeper Jose Silva (Northborough, Mass.) made five saves to prevent Franklin Pierce from scoring.
The Ravens:
- The Ravens are currently in playoff position, sitting in seventh in the NE-10 (6-4-1)
- Franklin Pierce boasts four players with at least 10 points, led by senior Quincy Appah with 15
- Freshman goalkeeper Jordan Leguyader has started 12 of 14 contests, totaling a 1.31 goals against average and a .750 save percentage
NE-10 Postseason Outlook:
Top-eight qualify
1. Southern New Hampshire (10-1-1)
2. Southern Connecticut (10-1)
3. Merrimack (7-2-2)
4. Le Moyne (7-4)
5. Adelphi (7-4)
6. Stonehill (7-4)
7. Franklin Pierce (6-4-1)
8. American International (5-7)
9. Bentley (4-6-1)
10. St. Michael's (4-7)
11. Assumption (2-7-2)
12. Saint Rose (1-9-1)
13. New Haven (1-10-0)
Tie-Breaker scenarios:
1. Compare Regular Season head-to-head results.
2. If still tied, then compare each team's record versus the team occupying the highest position in the standings. Continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.
If the Warriors win the final two games of the regular season, they will finish third in the conference. Merrimack can finish no higher than third and no lower than seventh in the NE-10, therefore locking up a berth in postseason play.
Up Next
Merrimack honors its members of the Class of 2015 as the Warriors host Senior Day on Friday afternoon against Adelphi at 4 p.m. The contest marks the regular season finale for both squads.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
