In a battle of two teams fighting for their first title, Fort Lewis scored two late second-half goals to fend off Franklin Pierce, 3-1, in the Division II Men's Soccer Championship game.

The game was played December 4 at Midwestern State, one day after Nebraska-Omaha's women's team captured its first Division II title on the same field.

Not only was the championship win a first for the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, it capped an unbeaten season at 22-0-1.

The Skyhawks' Ben Gantenbein tallied the game-winning goal on an assist from John Cunliffe in the 82nd minute of play. Cunliffe had fired a shot on goal that was deflected by Franklin Pierce goalkeeper James Thorpe, but Gantenbein converted the carom for a 2-1 Fort Lewis lead.

"I was able to make the save (on Cunliffe's shot), but it got away from me and the next thing I saw was (Gantenbein) kick it into the open net," Thorpe said.

Fort Lewis' third goal was an empty-netter with just three seconds left. Cunliffe assisted on that one as well. Franklin-Pierce (16-6-5) played one man short in the last eight minutes because sophomore back Michel Vitulano had to leave the game after being issued a second yellow card.

"Franklin Pierce had us on our heels for much of the second half," said Fort Lewis coach Jeremy Gunn. "But we were able to recover enough to regain the lead, and the last 10 minutes were the best we played all day."

Cliff Wilmes gave the Skyhawks their initial lead in the first half with a header in the 27th minute. Franklin Pierce answered two minutes into the second half on a free kick from Christopher Joyce. Joyce finished the campaign with a Division II-leading 29 goals. Joyce's ninth goal in NCAA tournament play set a record.

It was Cunliffe, though, who was voted the most outstanding offensive player of the tournament after posting three goals and three assists in the semifinal and final. Teammate Bryan Eisenbraun was recognized as the tournament's most outstanding defensive player. Wilmes and Cole Sweetser joined those two on the all-tournament team. Franklin Pierce placed Joyce, Thorpe and Andre Elphic on the squad.

Scoring may have been at a premium for Fort Lewis in the championship game, but the Skyhawks found the net six times in their semifinal win over Lynn. "We finished our chances," Gunn said of the offensive outburst. Both teams had been stingy before, allowing just 20 goals combined on the season. Lynn, champion in 2003, neutralized a 2-0 Fort Lewis halftime lead by converting twice in the first 25 minutes of the second half, then both teams combined for four more goals in the next three minutes. Gantenbein scored what would be the game-winner at 72:16. Cunliffe scored three times and added an assist in the game.

It was the second championship-game appearance for Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks advanced to the title game in 1999 before falling to Southern Connecticut State in double overtime, 2-1.

Franklin Pierce advanced to its first championship game with a 1-0 win over Southern Illinois Edwardsville in the semifinals. Raphael Guimaraes scored the decisive goal with just under seven minutes left in the game. The Ravens survived 11 Southern Illinois Edwardsville corner kicks while attempting none of their own. "For us, it's not necessarily how you get to the end result, at the end of the day you just need to finish one goal better than the opponent," said Franklin Pierce head coach Marco Koolman.

Guimaraes' goal came moments after Thorpe turned away a one-on-one attempt from Southern Illinois Edwardsville's Kevin Thibodeau. "Good goalkeepers make good saves, but great goalkeepers make good saves when it counts," Koolman said of Thorpe, named earlier as the Northeast-10 Conference goalkeeper of the year.

Semifinals

Second half: FP -- Raphael Guimaraes (Christopher Joyce), 83:23.

Shots: Franklin Pierce 7, SIU Edwardsville 17. Goalkeeper saves: Franklin Pierce (James Thorpe) 6, SIU Edwardsville (Greg Cook) 3. Corner kicks: Franklin Pierce 0, SIU Edwardsville 11. Fouls: Franklin Pierce 16, SIU Edwardsville 11.

First half: FL -- John Cunliffe (Ryan Kerr, Cole Sweetser), 13:25; FL -- Kieran Hall (Cunliffe), 42:18.

Second half: L -- Lee Porter (Lee Paul Scroggins), 46:13; L -- David Benn (unassisted), 69:12; FL -- Cunliffe (unassisted), 71:12; L -- Jean Alexander (unassisted), 71:45; FL -- Ben Gantenbein (Sweetser), 72:16; FL -- Sweetser (penalty kick), 82:40; FL -- Cunliffe (Jonathan Boyer), 83:40; L -- Scroggins (penalty kick), 86:22.

Shots: Lynn 18, Fort Lewis 22. Goalkeeper saves: Lynn (Kevin Street 0, Liam Bull 2) 2, Fort Lewis (Nick Clark) 6. Corner kicks: Lynn 6, Fort Lewis 5. Fouls: Lynn 13, Fort Lewis 13.

Championship game

First half: FL -- Cliff Wilmes (Kieran Hall), 26:45.

Second half: FP -- Christopher Joyce (unassisted), 47:24; FL -- Ben Gantenbein (John Cunliffe), 81:21; FL -- Cole Sweetser (Cunliffe), 89:57.

Shots: Franklin Pierce 11, Fort Lewis 13. Goalkeeper saves: Franklin Pierce (James Thorpe) 6, Fort Lewis (Nick Clarke) 1. Corner kicks: Franklin Pierce 6, Fort Lewis 5. Fouls: Franklin Pierce 23, Fort Lewis 11.