Oct. 8, 2008

LOWELL – Junior D Rudy Kocandrle (Northboro, MA) scored the lone goal in the 77th minute in a scramble as UMass Lowell defeated Franklin Pierce, 1-0, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men’s soccer clash at Cushing Field. With the victory, the River Hawks improved to 5-2-3 overall and 4-1-2 in the Conference entering Saturday’s home match against the College of Saint Rose (1:00). The loss halted a six-match unbeaten string for Franklin Pierce, which slipped to 7-5-1 overall and 5-1-1 in the NE-10. The Ravens host Assumption Saturday at 7:00. Kocandrle scored the winner when junior M Jhony Valencia (Lowell, MA) launched a corner kick from the right side, on which junior M Jeffery Danso (Worcester, MA) got a touch, enabling Kocandrle for the toe-poke directly in front of the goal. The River Hawks outshot the Ravens 13-3 overall and 7-2 on target as junior G Ryan Richards (Holden, MA) halted both Raven attempts to claim his fourth clean sheet of the season. Freshman G Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, MA) had six saves for FPU. The River Hawks nearly took a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute when senior F Matt Dubois (Dracut, MA) volleyed a failed clearance inside the 18-yard box agonizingly wide right. Franklin Pierce’s best chance came just two minutes later when senior M Frantz Francois (Saint Marc, Haiti) tested Richards from the left side of the six-yard box, only to have Richards smother the attempt.

UMass Lowell 1, Franklin Pierce 0
At Lowell, MA

Goalkeepers
Ryan Richards (UML): 2 saves, 90:00
Vinny Papageorgiou (FPU): 6 saves, 90:00