SMC falls just short of playoff berth; five seniors recognized on "Senior Day"

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Contact: Seth Cole – Phone: 802.654.2537

Box Score: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/msoc/2010-11/files/mfpustm.htm.

(Front row, left to right): Seniors Ryan Gannon, Andrew Scanlon, Blake Schill, Rob Pierce and Rondel Ward pose with head coach James Franklin (far left), along with family and friends, prior to Saturday's Senior Day contest (photo by Tony Bonvechio).

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael's College men's soccer team (7-6-4, 4-5-4 Northeast-10 Conference) saw its season come to an end on Saturday wit a 4-2 loss to Franklin Pierce University on Duffy Field at Doc Jacobs Complex.

With the loss, Saint Michael's finishes one point out of the final NE-10 playoff berth. The Purple Knights came into today's contest needing a win or a tie to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2007.

For Franklin Pierce (14-1-1, 13-0-1 NE-10), graduate student Shaun Taylor (Isle of White, England) and junior Diego Tabares (Seekonk, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist apiece. Grad student Jeff Hay (Dudley, Mass.) and junior Paul Latif (Newcastle, England) also scored for the Ravens, while junior Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.) stopped two shots.

For Saint Michael's, senior Blake Schill (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex/Worcester Academy) and junior Rob Irving (Oradell, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) tallied goals, while senior Ryan Gannon (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy/CCSU) added an assist. Sophomore Logan Kingman (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) recorded four saves.

Franklin Pierce, the top-ranked team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/HendrickCars.com Division II National Poll, opened the scoring in the eighth minute, as graduate student Shaun Taylor (Isle of White, England) netted a rebound off of a shot from junior Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for his fourth goal of the season.

Less than 10 minutes later, Saint Michael's scored the equalizer on its first shot of the game. A corner kick from senior Ryan Gannon (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy/CCSU) found the head of junior Rob Irving (Oradell, N.J./Don Bosco Prep), who connected for his second score of the season.

Franklin Pierce took the lead for good in the 56th minute on Hay's team-leading seventh goal of the season, and six minutes later, Tabares' unassisted score gave the visitors a 3-1 edge. Saint Michael's trimmed the deficit to 3-2 just a minute later on Schill's penalty kick goal, but Latif restored the Ravens' two-goal edge with 15:14 to go, sealing the win for the conference's regular-season champions.

Prior to the contest, Saint Michael's recognized its five seniors playing in the final home game of their collegiate careers: Gannon, Schill, Rob Pierce (Charlotte, Vt./Champlain Valley Union/Westminster School), Andrew Scanlon (East Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich/Worcester Academy), and Rondel Ward (Saint George, Barbados/Harrison's College HS/Barbados CC).

-PURPLEKNIGHTS-