Franklin Pierce men's soccer punches ticket to NCAA Division II championship game

Dec. 1—SEATTLE — Javier Gutierrez had his moment.

Make that plural: moments.

The senior scored twice in the second half of Thursday's NCAA Division II semifinal match to lead the Franklin Pierce men's soccer team to a 5-2 win over Lake Erie (Ohio) College at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.

Franklin Pierce (24-0-1) moves on to face CSU-Pueblo (19-3-2) in the national championship game. The Thunderwolves beat Barry University, 1-0, in the second semifinal game Thursday to advance to the title game.

The Ravens will play for the national title on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST. It's the first NCAA championship appearance since 2007 for the Ravens, when they last won it all.

"We told our guys that if we just stuck to what we've been doing all season ... that we'd be OK," said Franklin Pierce head coach Ruben Resendes. "We knew Lake Erie didn't sub as much as most teams ... and later in the game we could put a couple more away. The guys stayed patient and did that."

Gutierrez's first goal Thursday couldn't have come at a better time.

Down 2-0 at halftime, Lake Erie scored quickly in the second half — in the 50th minute — when sophomore Connor Mautino found some room coming down the left side of the pitch and buried his shot into the opposite side of the net. Franklin Pierce goalie Javier Torres — who played all 90 minutes for the Ravens — got a finger on the ball but didn't get enough.

The Ravens had controlled the game up until that point, but Lake Erie was right back in it.

For a minute, at least.

In the 51st minute, Gutierrez made it 3-1, then eight minutes later he did it again to put the Ravens ahead 4-1.

"We were able to have that response of their goal," Gutierrez said. "We scored fast, so that made things easier for us.

"I'm very happy about the goals, but even more for the win of the team," Gutierrez added. "It wouldn't be possible without my teammates."

It was certainly a roller coaster of emotions for the Storm in that minute after Mautino scored to cut Lake Erie's deficit in half. One second you're right back in the game. The next, not as much.

"We got to that point and I was like, 'We're right back in this,'" said Lake Erie head coach Louie Rolko. "[Franklin Pierce] maybe hasn't had too many challenges, so I thought, 'Hey, this is it.' But it was basically snapping your fingers and it was like, OK, they can show what they're capable of.

"2-0 is a dangerous lead at halftime and we got the first back," Rolko added. "But before we could really get it going, they were able to answer."

Vicente Valor Martinez recorded the assist on Gutierrez's first goal, a perfectly placed ball through the Lake Erie back line, and Gutierrez took care of the rest.

It's Gutierrez's first multi-goal game of the season.

Senior Younes Addar got the scoring going in the 31st minute, then assisted on senior Marc Lopez's insurance goal in the 37th minute.

Franklin Pierce controlled possession for much of the first half, creating scoring chances from almost the first minute. But the Ravens couldn't finish, as Lake Erie's defense held tough and disrupted the Ravens' offense just enough to keep it off the board.

Until the 31st minute, that is, when sophomore Braudilio Rodrigues — who had been creating scoring chances throughout the first half hour of play — found Addar streaking into the box on a cross, and Addar finished with ease, breaking the scoreless tie.

Said Rodrigues: "I was able to pick up Younes in the box and he scored, which was very important for us."

The goal opened things up for the Ravens, and Lopez took advantage six minutes later for the insurance goal, which took the Ravens to the locker room ahead 2-0.

The teams traded goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half, then it was all Ravens the rest of the way, as Javier Gutierrez and Miguel Angel Pastor Gutierrez both scored in the final half hour.

Lake Erie sophomore Teddy Baker scored for the Storm in the 80th minute, but it was too little too late.

The loss ends Lake Erie's Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament, which saw the Storm (12-8-5) reach the final four as an unranked team. Their postseason run was highlighted by a penalty-kick win over No. 4 Saginaw Valley State University in the second round.

"From the start of the season, we knew we had the ability to compete with the bigger teams," Baker said. "We got to this point from our belief, no matter what scenarios we were in. ... I'm incredibly proud of everyone."

Ravens' goalie Javier Torres wasn't called on often in net, but made a save in the first half and allowed the two goals (one in garbage time). Torres will likely be in net in Saturday's championship game, as senior Kosta Maniatis — the team's normal starter — did not make the trip to Seattle for an undisclosed reason.

Thursday was Torres' seventh appearance in goal this season and the first time he played back-to-back games. He also played all 90 minutes of the Ravens' win over Charleston (WV) in the national quarterfinals on Nov. 19.

The Sentinel will be providing live coverage from Seattle throughout the Ravens' national title run. Follow Chris Detwiler on Twitter @Chris_Detwiler for live updates or visit sentinelsource.com.

Chris Detwiler can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1411, or cdetwiler@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Detwiler.