No. 19 Saint Anselm Holds Off Franklin Pierce, 2-1

Hawks Make Early 2-0 Lead Stand Up Despite 16-10 Shot Advantage for Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. (Sept. 19, 2001) - Despite a 16-10 disadvantage in shots and time of possession, Saint Anselm College, ranked No. 19 in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II poll, was able to hold off Franklin Pierce College, 2-1, in a Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer match at Crystal Field this afternoon.

The Hawks struck for two goals in the first 26:32 of the match and made them hold up despite getting out-shot 11-4 over the final 45-minutes of play.

Freshman Chris Sanderson (Saugus, Mass./Saint Mary's) netted his first career goal just 8:32 into the match to put Saint Anselm ahead for good. Sanderson headed a serve from sophomore Ben Ganley (Ipswich, Mass./Pingree School), on a free kick just five yards inside of mid-field, past Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Chris Hughes (Lenzie, Scotland/Lenzie Academy).

Senior All-American's Chris Bagley (Holbrook, Mass./Archbishop Williams) and Tim Karalexis (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) connected for the eventual gamewinner at 26:32, as Karalexis headed a cross from Bagley into the net.

Franklin Pierce closed the gap to within one marker when senior Ernest Olius (Hillside, N.J./Essex CC) sent sophomore Bjorgolfer Takefusa (Reykjavik, Iceland/Vt.-Business) in one-on-one with Hawks goalkeeper Robert Morong (Dedham, Mass./Dedham). Takefusa made the opportunity count, slipping a shot into the lower right-hand corner at 73:16.

The Ravens controlled possession through nearly the entire second half, but Morong came up with several grade-A stops and finished with nine saves for the match (six second half) to preserve the win. Hughes recorded four saves in the game.

Franklin Pierce (4-2, 1-2 NE-10) returns to action next Wednesday, September 26, when they host Bentley College for a Conference match at 3:30 p.m. Saint Anselm (5-0, 4-0 NE-10) returns to the pitch on Sunday, September 23, to host the College of Saint Rose at 1 p.m.

Scoring Summary:
SAC: Chris Sanderson (Ben Ganley), 8:32; SAC: Tim Karalexis (Chris Bagley), 26:32; FP: Bjorgolfer Takefusa (Ernest Olius), 73:16.

Goalkeepers:
SAC: Robert Morong - nine saves, 90:00; FP: Chris Hughes - four saves, 90:00.

Shots:
SAC: 10, FP: 16.