No. 8 Southern Connecticut State University Owls (4-11-1, 4-8-0 NE10)
vs No. 1 Franklin Pierce Ravens (16-1-0, 11-1-0 NE10)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Sodexo Field (Rindge, N.H.) 
Live Stats | Live Video
 
The No. 8 seed Southern Connecticut State University men's soccer team will travel to Sodexo Field in Rindge, N.H. to play No. 1 seed Franklin Pierce in the quarterfinals of the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 at 7 p.m.. Franklin Pierce is also ranked No. 4 in the United States National Soccer Coaches' Poll.

NE10 Men's Soccer Championship

1. Franklin Pierce (11-1, .917)
2. American International (9-3, .750)
3. Saint Rose (8-3-1, .708)*
4. Southern New Hampshire (8-3-1, .708)*
5. Adelphi (8-4, .667)
6. Le Moyne (7-5, .583)
7. New Haven (5-5-2, .500)
8. Southern Conn. (4-8, .333)

* Saint Rose and SNHU finished with the same win/loss percentage and same number of points. In a comparison of results vs. conference opponents, both teams lost to Franklin Pierce and both teams beat AIC. Saint Rose won vs. Adelphi and SNHU lost to Adelphi. Saint Rose earns the #3 seed.

Follow The Owls 

Owls fans can find the latest news, scores and highlights at the Official Website of the Southern Connecticut men's soccer team, SCSUOwls.com/sports/mens-soccer, or on Twitter and Instagram at @SCSU_MSOC. 

Franklin Pierce Spectator Policy 

• All fans are allowed to attend events on campus. Fans who are vaccinated are currently not required to wear a mask for outdoor events. Fans who are not vaccinated are requested to wear a mask. All fans are encouraged to follow social distancing guidelines when possible at sporting events. Masking is required for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, to attend indoor events.
• All spectators are encouraged to follow social distancing guidelines when possible at sporting events.

All-Time Against Franklin Pierce: 22-14-7 

All-Time Against Franklin Pierce in the NE10 Tournament: Southern and Franklin Pierce have met five times in the NE10 Tournament, but not since 2014, a 5-0 Owls victory. Southern also defeated Franklin Pierce in 2013, 2-1, but Southern was prohibited from advancing in the tournament after the victory. Franklin Pierce defeated Southern, 2-1, in 2008 and 2-0 in 2004. Both teams played to a 0-0 draw in the 2006 Conference Championship game before Franklin Pierce won 6-5 on penalty kicks. 

Season Recap
Despite a slow start for the Owls which saw their record sit at 1-6-1 overall and 1-3-0 in the NE10 after the first month of play, Southern rallied in October. Southern defeated New Haven, 1-0, on Oct. 6 and won back-to-back overtime games on Oct. 27 and Oct. 30, 1-0 to Bentley and 2-1 to Southern New Hampshire. The Owls also received help around the conference, as Saint Michael's went 1-6-1 in October, Saint Anselm went 2-8-1 in their final 11 games, Stonehill lost five of their last six games, and Assumption went 2-9-1 in their last 12 games. Leroy Best (Bielefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany) led the Owls with three goals scored this season, including the game-winner against Southern New Hampshire. Aren Seeger (Naugatuck, Conn.) was named NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week for the ninth week of the season.

This will be Southern's 20th conference tournament appearance in their 21 years in the NE10. Southern has a record of 19-16, the fifth best win percentage in conference history among current NE10 programs, and won the Conference Championship in 2007. This is also Franklin Pierce's 20th tournament appearance, and they have the fourth best conference tournament record at 21-17. The Ravens won the championship in 2006, 2010, and 2011.

Eighth Seed Magic: The eight seed has won three straight conference tournament games against the No. 1 seed. 

• 2019: AIC 3, Adelphi 2 in double overtime
• 2018: AIC 2, Le Moyne 1
• 2017: Bentley 2, Adelphi 1

Player Notes

• Alex da Cunha's (Norderstedt, Germany) goal against SNHU was his first goal of his career. 
• da Cunha joins Santiago Slapak (Manuel Alberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Leroy Best (Bielefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany) as freshmen to score game-winning goals for the Owls this season, with Best's also coming in overtime in Southern's game on Oct. 27 against Bentley.
• Lennox Strelow's (Bremen, Germany) goal against SNHU was also the first of his career. 
• Aren Seeger (Naugatuck, Conn.)  set a new season-high in saves with eight against SNHU.
• Southern  won two consecutive overtime games for the first time since 2002, when they defeated Concordia, 1-0, and Bridgeport, 3-2, to begin the season.
• Southern's first win against Southern New Hampshire was their first at Jess Dow Field against the Penmen since Sept. 22, 2007. 
• Best's goal against Bentley was the third of his career and his first game-winner. 
• Best leads the Owls with three goals and six points this season. 
• Best and Slapak are the only Southern freshmen with game-winning goals this season. 
• Seeger's shutout against Bentley was his first since Oct. 29, 2019. Both of Seeger's career shutouts have been against Bentley. 
• Bailey Bassett (Andover, Conn.) tied his career-high and set a new season-high in saves with nine against American International. 
• Jacob Rose (Uncasville, Conn.) scored the first goal of his collegiate career in Southern's game against Assumption. He became the fifth Southern player to score their first career goal this season.
• Matt Surette (Bowie, Md.) goal against Assumption was his first of the season and second of his career. He previously scored on Sept. 13, 2019 against Nyack. 
• Seven different players have scored a goal for the Owls this season. 
• Against New Haven, Slapak became the fifth Southern player and third Southern freshman to score a goal. 
• Against New Haven, Bassett recorded his second consecutive game with at least seven saves, and his sixth game this season with at least five saves. 
• Juan Alava's (Guayaquil, Ecuador) goal against Adelphi was his second in an Owls' uniform. He previously scored against Saint Michael's on Sept. 18, 2021. Before arriving at Southern, he scored three goals in two seasons played at Nassau Community College.
• da Cunha's assist to Alava against Adelphi was the first of his collegiate career. 
• Bassett's seven saves against Adelphi was one off his season-high of eight, done on Sept. 18, 2021 against Saint Michael's.
• Bassett recorded his second shutout of the season against Saint Michael's (also done against Bridgeport on Sept. 8) and sixth of his career. 
• Against Saint Michael's, Jalen Jean (West Hempstead, N.Y.) and Best became the first freshman duo to both record a goal in a game since Devante Teixeira and Jan-Malte Thesenvitz did so on Oct. 1, 2016 against Saint Anselm. 
• Best became the first player to score a goal in their first career game at Southern since Louis Greenway Tambini did so on Sept. 3, 2015 against Dominican. 
• Against Saint Michael's, Jean became the first Southern freshman to record a goal and an assist in the same game since Chae Brangman did so on Nov. 4, 2014 against Franklin Pierce. 
• Southern has four shutouts and five overtime games this season. 

Up Next
The Semifinals NE10 Conference Tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 10. With a win, Southern will play either No. 4 Southern New Hampshire or No. 5 Adelphi.