Northeast-10 Men's Soccer Tournament Game Notes

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Southern New Hampshire University

THE MATCHUP:Southern New Hampshire (5-7-5, 5-6-2 Northeast-10) is making its eighth-straight appearance in the Northeast-10 men’s soccer tournament. The Penmen, who enter the tournament as the No. 8 seed, will travel to face top-seeded Franklin Pierce (12-1-3, 11-0-2 Northeast-10) Sunday at 6:00.

ON THE AIR: Sunday’s game can be heard via a free audio webcast on the Franklin Pierce website by logging on to http://www.franklinpierce.edu/athletics.

SNHU IN THE NE-10 TOURNAMENT: Southern New Hampshire has appeared in all eight Northeast-10 Tournaments since joining the conference prior to the 2000-01 season. The Penmen have compiled a record of 6-4-2 (.583) in NE-10 tourney play while capturing league titles in 2000 and 2002. SNHU and FPU are two of the four teams that have competed in all eight NE-10 Tournaments since 2000, with UMass Lowell and Southern Connecticut the others.

THE SERIES WITH FPU: Southern New Hampshire leads the all-time series with Franklin Pierce 23-15-4, but the Ravens hold a 6-1-1 advantage over the last eight meetings, including a 2-0 win in Manchester earlier this season in which FPU got goals from David Clifton and Bisharra Ettienne. The last Penmen victory came during the 2005 regular season when SNHU posted a 1-0 win on a David McGuire goal at Larkin Field.

The two teams have met in the Northeast-10 Tournament in each of the past two seasons. Last year the Ravens and Penmen played to a 2-2 draw but host Franklin Pierce advanced on penalty kicks. In 2005 the Ravens notched a 1-0 victory on a Raphael Guimaraes tally.

SCOUTING THE PENMEN: Southern New Hampshire is coming off a 1-0 loss to UMass Lowell to close out the regular season. The Penmen had a 3-1-2 stretch towards the end of the regular season but dropped their final two games to Assumption and UML.

Senior Matt Delaney has posted four goals for eight points to lead the Penmen, who have surrendered just 19 goals in 17 games. Delaney, who was a Second Team All-New England selection last season, also anchors the defense. Gabe Mercier has registered two goals and three assists for seven points, while Simon Kearney has two goals and two assists for six points. Newcomers Daniel Hernandez and Paulson Edum each have two goals and an assist.

Senior Dan Pelc has seen the bulk of action in goal for Southern New Hampshire. He has posted a 1.21 goals-against average and .731 save percentage with four shutouts. Junior Sean Lambert has played in three games, recording a pair of shutouts.

LAST TIME OUT: A goal by Edens Cherry late in the first half lifted UMass Lowell to a 1-0 Northeast-10 men’s soccer victory over Southern New Hampshire University at Cushing Field Wednesday night. The River Hawks improve to 12-2-2 and 10-2-1 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 5-7-5 and 5-6-2 in league play. The game marked the regular season finale for both schools.

UML got on the board at the 41:02 mark when Cherry headed a ball inside the right post off a corner kick by Matias Pietropinto.

Ryan Richards made four saves for UMass Lowell to earn the shutout, while Southern New Hampshire keeper Dan Pelc (Hamilton, ONT) made five saves. The hosts outshot SNHU 16-8.

FIT TO BE TIED: For the second straight year, the Penmen have tied a school record by playing to five ties. The record of five was established in 2000 and tied last season. Southern New Hampshire opened the season with three straight draws, including 0-0 ties against Dominican and Merrimack.

BLANKMAN: Senior Dan Pelc has established himself as one of the all-time leaders in shutouts in Southern New Hampshire men’s soccer history. Pelc, who has played in all but four games over his four-year career, has registered 21 shutouts, tied for second in program history with Erik Fernstrom. Current assistant coach Tobias Svantesson is the program leader in shutouts, recording 32 from 1999 to 2001.

WORKING OVERTIME: Southern New Hampshire was unbeaten in overtime games this season, posting a1-0 OT win over AIC on September 29 and going 1-0-5 in extra-session games this season. The Penmen are unbeaten in their last nine overtime contests and are 2-1-10 in overtime over the last two seasons.

DELANEY, KEARNEY NAMED ALL-ACADEMIC: Senior Matt Delaney and graduate student Simon Kearney were both recently named to the Northeast-10 Men’s Soccer All-Academic Team. Delaney, a senior sport management major, carries a 3.83 GPA, while Kearney is pursuing his MBA and carries a 3.80 GPA. The NE-10 All-Academic Teams are chosen by a vote of the Northeast-10 sports information directors.

WHAT’S NEXT: Sunday’s winner advances to a NE-10 semifinal game on Wednesday against the winner of the quarterfinal pitting No. 4 Le Moyne against No. 5 Merrimack.  Sunday's other quarterfinal matchups are No. 7 Bryant traveling to second-seeded UMass Lowell, and No. 3 seed Southern Connecticut entertaining sixth-seeded Saint Michael's.

HEAD COACH DAVE ANDERSON: Dave Anderson is in his fourth season as head coach of the men’s soccer team at Southern New Hampshire University. Named the sixth head coach in program history on April 7, 2004, Anderson owns a career 33-29-13 record and in 2006 took the Penmen to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2002 season. Prior to taking over as head coach, Anderson was an assistant coach for six seasons with the Penmen, during which time they posted a 81-25-16 record and advanced to four NCAA Tournaments, including a national title game appearance in 2002. A 1994 graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, Anderson was a member of Owls’ 1987 national championship team.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: Southern New Hampshire is one of the most storied programs in the history of Division II soccer. The Penmen have appeared in 13 NCAA Tournaments since 1986, a number surpassed only by Southern Connecticut and Seattle Pacific. SNHU, then known as New Hampshire College, won the 1989 NCAA Division II men’s soccer championship and was national runner-up in 2002. A total of 17 players have been named All-Americans and Mounir Tajiou was the 2002 national Player of the Year.

CAN’T GET TO THE GAME?: There are two ways to keep track of Southern New Hampshire University athletics if you can’t be at the game. The SNHU athletics website, located within the main University website at www.snhu.edu, has results, schedules, statistics and more for all 16 varsity teams. Daily results are also available on the SNHU athletic hotline by calling 603.629.4678.