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Syracuse, N.Y. - Junior forward Angelo Reina (Frankfort, N.Y./Utica Notre Dame) scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner 4:02 into the second overtime period, to lead the 10th-ranked Le Moyne College men's soccer team to a 2-1 win over Franklin Pierce in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship semifinals on Wednesday afternoon at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex.

Just under 16 minutes into the contest, the Dolphins were whistled for a foul in the penalty box to give Franklin Pierce a penalty kick. Sophomore midfielder Paul Latif slotted the ball just underneath the hands of Le Moyne goalkeeper Steve White (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland). Over the final 29 minutes, the Dolphins held a 3-1 advantage in shots, but were unable to tie the score and went into intermission trailing for the seventh time this season.

Reina evened the score at one apiece at the 11:21 mark of the second half. Sophomore midfielder Marcus Debottis (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) took a pass from classmate Bryce Martin (Cazenovia, N.Y./Chittenango) and crossed the ball in front of the goal, where a streaking Reina deposited it into the back of the net for his 15th goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce nearly took the lead in the 88th minute off a corner kick by senior midfielder Kensaku Tsuji. Sophomore back Tom Reilly headed the ball at the far post, where Le Moyne junior midfielder Joe Viviano's (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) attempt to clear the ball deflected off the crossbar and Debottis cleared away the ricochet before the Ravens could get off another shot. The Dolphins countered with a corner kick of their own in the closing seconds, but could not get a shot on target.

The two squads remained tied after the first 10-minute overtime period to set up Reina's heroics. Following a header by a Franklin Pierce defender, sophomore midfielder Harrison Grubbs (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) collected the ball in the center of the field and lofted a pass to Reina, who volleyed the ball from 15 yards into the top right corner of the goal for his sixth game-winning goal of the season. Reina's 16 goals are the fourth-most goals in a season by a Dolphin and the most since 2001.

The Dolphins out-shot their guests, 18-6, including 13-4 after halftime, while each team registered six corner kicks. White made two saves in goal for Le Moyne to post his program-best 16th victory of the season and 50th of his career. Papageorgiou turned away five shots in the contest for the Ravens.

Le Moyne (16-2-2), which is making its second consecutive appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship, will host Southern Connecticut State on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1:00 p.m. The Dolphins, who won their only conference championship with a 1-0 victory at Franklin Pierce in 2005, fell to Southern Connecticut State, 2-1, in double-overtime earlier this season.

-agate-

#10 Le Moyne 2, Franklin Pierce 1 (2 OT)
Franklin Pierce (12-4-3)          1          0          0          0          -           1
#10 Le Moyne (16-2-2)            0          1          0          1          -           2

Franklin Pierce (12-4-3): SCORING: Paul Latif 1-0. GOALKEEPING: Vinny Papageorgiou (104:02, 2 GA, 5 saves).

#10 Le Moyne (16-2-2): SCORING: Angelo Reina 2-0, Marcus Debottis 0-1, Harrison Grubbs 0-1. GOALKEEPING: Steve White (104:02, 1 GA, 2 saves).