Published: 12/4/2022 8:32:36 AM
Modified: 12/4/2022 8:32:13 AM
The historic 2022 season for the Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team came to a close Saturday afternoon, as the Ravens claimed their first NCAA Division II national championship since the 2007 season and the second in the program’s history with a 2-0 win over No. 2 Colorado State University-Pueblo at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.
The Ravens’ 26 wins this season makes them the single-season winningest team in NCAA Division II, breaking the previous record held by the 2015 champion Pfeiffer University (25-0-0). Additionally, the 26-0-1 season mark is the winningest season in program history.
From the opening kick, Franklin Pierce owned much of the run of play, outshooting the Thunderwolves by a 5-2 margin in the first half, but with limited scoring opportunities.
On the other end of the field, the Franklin Pierce defense kept the CSU offense at bay, with very few quality looks at the goal. To open the scoring, graduate Miguel Angel Pastor Gutierrez (Valencia, Spain) took advantage of a failed CSU clear off a center, turned and sent a low, far-post shot past Thunderwolves’ goalkeeper Nils Roth for the 1-0 lead.
Both shots by the Wolves would come over the next four minutes of play, but the Ravens would remain firm defensively to lead 1-0 at halftime.
In the 73rd minute, senior forward Younes Addar (Castellon, Spain) added the finishing touches to a passing play between Braudilio Rodrigues (Lisbon, Portugal) and Jonas Cervera Anchel (Chiva, Spain), sending a shot into a gaping net.
Over the course of the second half, Colorado State would collect five yellow cards, as well as outshoot the Ravens by a total of 5-3, but failed to capitalize on their limited opportunities.
Senior goalkeeper Javier Torres (Asturias, Spain) faced one shot and made one save to secure his fifth shutout of the year. For CSU, Roth made two saves on four shots.
The conclusion of the title match also meant the selection of the NCAA’s All-Tournament Team. For the champion Ravens, Vicente Valor Martinez was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and joined Jonas Cervera Anchel, Bernardo Prego (Evora, Portugal), Braudilio Rodrigues and Younes Addar on the All-Tournament roster.
Colorado State-Pueblo’s Shjon Andrews, Caio Oliviera, Matthew Coleman and Gabriel Campora were also named to the All-Tournament team, while Lake Erie’s Teddy Baker and Barry University’s Iker Berruezo finalized the list.
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