MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior goalkeeper Mark Kotsopoulos (Shrewsbury, Mass.) made six saves, but the Saint Anselm College men's soccer team fell to Franklin Pierce University, 3-0, Wednesday afternoon for Northeast-10 men's soccer action at Melucci Field.
With the loss, Saint Anselm will dip to 2-8 overall and 1-7 in the league, while the Ravens jump to 6-5 with a 5-3 mark in the Northeast-10.
The Ravens claimed the early lead at 26:09 when Ryan Ruffing crossed a pass from the right to Dallas Donovan, who booted the ball into the open left side of the net.
The Ravens appeared to have scored in the 16th minute when Ruffing again crossed the ball from the right, this time to Gareth Dudney, who found the open left side. After a Franklin Pierce celebration, the referee overturned the call due to an offsides call.
Franklin Pierce made it a 2-0 game with less than four minutes to play as George Levantakis blasted in a pass from Pedro Espindola at the left post.
Espindola made the final strike for Franklin Pierce as the clock hit zero with his shot inside the left post after Levantakis returned the favor in the final seconds.
The Hawks had a pair of chances late in the second half when after a series of quick and clean passes, freshman Matthew Vlasich (Exeter, N.H.) sent a shot that ricocheted off the right post and out of play.
The Hawks' second chance came with just under eight minutes remaining as senior George Lamptey (Worcester, Mass.) sent a rocket from 20 yards out just above the cross bar.
Raven keeper Sam Meza stopped both shots he faced to earn the win. Franklin Pierce held a 22-6 edge in shots and an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. when they travel to take on Southern Connecticut State University. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
