It has been a record-setting year thus far for the Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team.

And while those newly set marks are all well and good, the Ravens have a much bigger goal in mind for this season than just making some new program history.

After the 2010 campaign ended in disappointment on their home field in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals, FPU has been on a mission.

A trip to the DII Final Four is the logical next step, but getting there is just one part of it. This team wants a chance to win it all and join the 2007 squad as only the second in program history to do so.

Currently ranked No. 2 in all of Division II, the Ravens are coming off their second straight Northeast-10 Conference tournament championship, defeating Southern New Hampshire University 1-0 on Sunday. They also won the regular season crown again.

At 19-0-1, FPU earned the top seed in Super Region 1 and a first round bye. As long as the Ravens keep winning, they will have home field advantage through the regional finals before the tournament is shifted to a neutral site for the national semifinals and finals at the University of West Florida on Dec. 1 and 3.

FPU will return to Sodexo Field on Saturday at 7 p.m. when they square off with the winner of No. 4 New York Tech, the East Coast Conference tournament champion, and fifth seed St. Thomas Aquinas, also from the ECC.

A win would have the Ravens hosting the national quarterfinals for the second straight season next weekend with a date and time yet to be determined.

It is the ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament for the program and 17th overall. The Ravens will be looking to win their regional for the fourth time in the last eight seasons in 2011.

The year began with 10 straight wins for FPU, including a 1-0 victory over Dowling, the team that ended the 2010 season, before a tie against New Haven put a small blemish on what is otherwise a perfect record. Since then, the Ravens cruised through their remaining regular season schedule, amassing six victories in a row and a conference title prior to the NE-10 tournament.

And with three consecutive shutouts, outscoring opponents 7-0, FPU now sits 20 games into the season and in the best position possible.

It is just the second unbeaten regular season in program history, also done in 1995, and the 19 wins ties the single season mark set in 1991. The 20 consecutive matches without a loss also set a new school record.

On the season, FPU has scored 42 goals and allowed just 11. Senior goalie Vinny Papageorgiou, who was named the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year, allowed one goal or less in 18 games and posted 11 shutouts with 57 saves.

Senior Diego Tabares scored a team leading nine goals and was chosen as the NE-10 Player of the Year; and senior Tom Reilly, who was the 2010 Player of the Year, was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. In all, 10 players were selected for the four conference teams.
All the records and accolades are great, but now the real work starts. The first loss of the season would be the end of it all.

It won’t be an easy road, but the Ravens are prepared. They have to be, if they want to complete the task that has been a year in the making.

This article appeared in the Nov. 11, 2011 edition of the Ledger-Transcript.