WALTHAM, Mass. – On the heels of a rousing, come-from-behind win over Southern Connecticut in the semifinals Friday afternoon, Bentley University is just one win away from claiming its first Northeast-10 Men’s Soccer Championship since 1994. Standing in its way is the No. 1 ranked team in Division II, Franklin Pierce. The game kicks off Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. from Franklin Pierce’s Sodexo Field in Rindge, N.H.
The Falcons have won a pair of dramatic games to reach their first NE-10 final since 1994. They bested New Haven 1-0 in overtime in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, as sophomore Weston Zeiner (North Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial) scored the winner 5:10 into overtime.
On Friday at Southern Connecticut, the Falcons rallied from 2-0 down late in the second half on goals by juniors Matt Solomon (Avon, Conn./Avon Old Farms) and Chris Gardner (Skillman, N.J./Hun School of Princeton) to force overtime. After a scoreless extra session, Bentley then beat the Owls 5-3 in penalty kicks as Zeiner was again the hero, delivering the winning kick.
Franklin Pierce got to this point by dispatching eight seeded Merrimack 5-1 in the quarterfinals, and topping fourth seeded Le Moyne 1-0 in the semis.
The Falcons are in the midst of one of the best seasons in school history. Their 11 wins are tied for fifth most in program history, and they are unbeaten in their last eight games (4-0-4), conceding just three goals in that span.
They will have a tall order in front of them to claim the title though, as the Ravens have won 16 of their 18 games this season with a record of 16-1-1. They comfortably won the NE-10 regular season crown by eight points, have held the number one ranking in Division II for the last two weeks and have been ranked no lower than fifth for the last five weeks.
One of the games Franklin Pierce did not win however, was an Oct. 12 encounter with Bentley in Rindge. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Falcons got an equalizer from Zeiner in the 68th minute and held on for a 1-1 tie.
Bentley is making its sixth appearance in the final and has three championships to its credit. The Ravens are making their fourth appearance and won the title in 2006.
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