Men's Soccer Championship Photo

Men's Soccer Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

ELITE EIGHT PREVIEW: No. 6 Golden Knights Look For Third Straight Upset vs. No. 1 Southern New Hampshire

NCAA DIVISION II ELITE EIGHT
No. 14/No. 6 seed GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (15-2-4) at No. 6/No. 1 seed SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE PENMEN (16-2-2)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, December 6, 2025 | 3:00 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: Mark A. Ouellette Stadium l Hooksett, N.H.
 
THE GANNON-SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE SERIES
Gannon leads 1-0-0
The Golden Knights and Southern New Hampshire have met once on the pitch, that occurring 40 years ago. Gannon posted a 1-0 win over the Penmen in the Oakland Invitational in Rochester, Mich.
Last Meeting:  Sept. 20, 1986 – Gannon 1, Southern New Hampshire 0  


ERIE, Pa. – For the third straight weekend the Gannon men's soccer team head to New England in search of an upset in the 2025 NCAA Division II Tournament. The Golden Knights play at Southern New Hampshire in Hooksett, New Hampshire in the Elite Eight on Saturday, December 6. The kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. at Mark A. Ouellette Stadium.
 
Head coach Billy Colton's team has run off 11 straight wins to improve to 15-2-4. Seeded sixth in Super Region 1, the Golden Knights began their playoff journey upsetting No. 3 Bentley 2-1 in the second round. They took out No. 2 Franklin Pierce by the same 2-1 score last Sunday in a rematch of last year's third round game.

Now Gannon seeks to complete the sweep of the top three seeds in the region. Southern New Hampshire was ranked sixth in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Div. II Top 25 but holds down the top seed in Super Region 1.

The Penmen come in at 16-2-2 with the two losses to the two teams Gannon just beat in the tournament. They lost to Bentley 2-1 in early October then fell to Franklin Pierce 3-2 in the NE-10 semifinals. That is the most goals Southern New Hampshire has allowed all year.  
 
The semifinals and final will be played Dec. 12 and 14 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colo.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Gannon entered the Super Region 1 Tournament as the number six seed and has posted a pair of road upsets, both by identical 2-1 scores. In the second round the Golden Knights traveled to Waltham, Mass. to face 11th-ranked and No. 3 seed Bentley. Trailing 1-0 at the half, Per Kristian Lauvstad (Nesoya, Norway/) tied the match at 1-1 in the 55th minute. Ten minutes later Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick.
 
Last weekend the Golden Knights headed back to New England, this time to Rindge, New Hampshire for a Sweet 16 matchup with number two seed and 22nd-ranked Franklin Pierce. The two teams met the last two years with Franklin Pierce getting the better of Gannon. This time the Golden Knights overcame heavy rains to win 2-1 on Enzo Rekka's (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Gymnasium of the Catholic School Centre "Sveti Franjo") long blast with 13 minutes remaining in the match.
 
Southern New Hampshire has posted a pair of shutouts to reach the Elite Eight. The top-seeded Penmen edged Bridgeport 1-0 in their opening match with the lone goal coming in the 76th minute. Last weekend SNHU handed Charleston (WV) its first loss of the season by a 2-0 score. Even though seeded fourth Charleston was ranked number one in the United Soccer Coaches Div. II Top 25. The Penmen scored twice in the second half.      
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
No. 6 Gannon Golden Knights (15-2-4)
Head Coach:  Billy Colton (97-22-14, 7th season)
Leading Scorers: Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs), MF, Sr. (17G-12A-46 pts.); Enzo Rekka (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Gymnasium of the Catholic School Centre "Sveti Franjo"), F. Fr. (10G-12A-32 pts.); Rafa Hyde (São José dos Campos, Brazil/), F, Jr. (10G-9A-29 pts.); Shota Toyama (Kanagawa, Japan/Tama), MF, Sr. (5G-7A-17 pts.); Manuel Pereyra, F, Fr., (5G-3A-13 pts.); Fabricio Zuliani, F, Fr. (4-5-13
Goalkeeper: Andre Moares (12-1-2, 1.05 GAA, .759 save pct., 2 SHO)
All-PSAC Players: Billy Colton (PSAC West Coach of the Year); Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) (MF, Sr., PSAC West Athlete of the Year, First Team); Enzo Rekka (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Gymnasium of the Catholic School Centre "Sveti Franjo") (F, Fr., PSAC West Freshman of the Year, First Team); Rafa Hyde (São José dos Campos, Brazil/) (F, Jr., First Team); Andre Moraes (Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil/Colegio Singular) (GK, R-Jr., First Team); Jensen Peake (Staffordshire, England) (D, Jr., First Team); Gonzalo Perez (Madrid, Spain/Virgen de Europa) (D, Sr., First Team); Shota Toyama (Kanagawa, Japan/Tama) (MF, Sr., First Team); Frederik Paulsen (Odense, Denmark/Oure Kostgymnasium) (D, Fr., Second Team)
Fast Facts: Gannon won its first-ever PSAC championship with a 2-1 win over Millersville … Billy Colton is concluding his seventh season as Gannon's head men's soccer coach, and his 11th year overall as a member of the staff. He owns a 97-22-14 record making the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Colton ranks third in career victories at Gannon and currently holds the top winning percentage at .782 … Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) is a highly-decorated player who was a consensus All-American a year ago and was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year for the second straight year. Orten has moved up to second in career goals (46) along with now ranking seventh in career points with 116. He stands sixth in Div. II in goals per game (0.81) while leading the country in total goals with 17. He is also tied for sixth with teammate Enzo Rekka (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Gymnasium of the Catholic School Centre "Sveti Franjo") in assists (12) and tied for seventh in assists per game (0.57) … Gannon has scored 65 goals, the third-highest season total. The 2023 squad set the school record with 73 goals and a year ago the Golden Knights tallied 68 goals.
 
SCOUTING THE PENMEN
No. 1 Southern New Hampshire Penmen (16-2-2)
Head Coach: Josh Taylor (123-39-26, 10th season)    
Leading Scorers: Martin Fuentes, MF (10G-8A-28 pts.); Phillipp Herrmann, F (10G-20 pts.); Dani Gonzalez, F (6G-8A-20 pts.) 
Goalkeeper: Alvaro Garcia (15-2-2, 0.92 GAA, .717 save pct, 7 SHO)
All-NE-10 Players: First Team: Martin Fuentes (F, Gr.); Philipp Herrmann (F, Sr.); Gabriel Castro (MF, So.); Alex Pons (D, Jr.). Second Team: Dani Gonzalez (MF, Gr.); Alvaro Garcia (GK, Gr.). Third Team: Felipe di Paola (F, Fr.); Alejo Caceres (MF, Sr.); Eduardo Maia (D, Jr.); Gabi Barroso (D, Fr.). All-Rookie: Felipe di Paola (F, Fr.); Gabi Barroso ((D, Fr.); Sean Correia (MF, Fr.)
Fast Facts: Southern New Hampshire is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time and have advanced to the national quarterfinals for the 12th time in program history, but first since 2013 … the Penmen own a distinct advantage on their home pitch. They are now 109-16-18 (.825) over their last 143 contests at home, including 47-9-11 (.784) at Ouellette Stadium. SNHU is now 18-2-3 (.848) at home over its last two seasons and is unbeaten in 17 of its last 18 at Ouellette (14-1-3).

GANNON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT  
Gannon makes its 14th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament. The Golden Knights have made the NCAA Tournament in the following years: 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2007, 2012, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 and now 2025.

1984
LOCK HAVEN -- L, 0-2
1985  
DAVIS & ELKINS -- L, 1-2
1986  
OAKLAND -- L, 1-2
1988  
at Tampa -- W, 3-1
vs. Florida Inst. of Technology -- L, 0-1
1989
OAKLAND -- W, 2-1 ot
EAST STROUDSBURG -- W, 1-0
NCAA SEMIFINALS
at UNC-Greensboro L, 2-4
1990  
at Oakland -- W, 2-1
NCAA SEMIFINALS
vs. Southern Connecticut St. -- L, 1-2 ot
1993   
OAKLAND -- W, 3-2 ot
NCAA SEMIFINALS
vs. Southern Connecticut St. -- L, 0-2
2007
at Northern Kentucky -- L, 2-5
2012   
DAVIS & ELKINS -- W, 2-1
NCAA ATLANTIC REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (Sweet 16)
vs. Mercyhurst -- L, 1-2
2019
ASSUMPTION -- W, 5-0
CHARLESTON (WV) -- L, 0-3
2021
at Millersville -- T 2-2 2ot (Millersville advanced 4-3 on PKs)
2023
at Millersville – W, 2-1
vs. Charleston (WV) – W, 2-1 (Sweet 16)
at Franklin Pierce – L, 0-1 (Elite Eight)
2024
FRANKLIN PIERCE – L, 2-3 ot
2025
at Bentley – W, 2-1
at Franklin Pierce – W, 2-1 (Sweet 16)
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Rafa Hyde

#9 Rafa Hyde

F
6' 1"
Junior
Per Kristian Lauvstad

#7 Per Kristian Lauvstad

F
6' 3"
Sophomore
Andre Moraes

#12 Andre Moraes

GK
6' 1"
Redshirt Junior
Sverre Orten

#8 Sverre Orten

MF
5' 9"
Senior
Business Administration 
Gonzalo Perez

#2 Gonzalo Perez

D
6' 0"
Senior
Shota Toyama

#17 Shota Toyama

MF
5' 9"
Senior
Business
Jensen Peake

#6 Jensen Peake

D
6' 0"
Junior
Enzo Rekka

#11 Enzo Rekka

F
6' 1"
Freshman
Frederik Paulsen

#18 Frederik Paulsen

D
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Rafa Hyde

#9 Rafa Hyde

6' 1"
Junior
F
Per Kristian Lauvstad

#7 Per Kristian Lauvstad

6' 3"
Sophomore
F
Andre Moraes

#12 Andre Moraes

6' 1"
Redshirt Junior
GK
Sverre Orten

#8 Sverre Orten

5' 9"
Senior
Business Administration 
MF
Gonzalo Perez

#2 Gonzalo Perez

6' 0"
Senior
D
Shota Toyama

#17 Shota Toyama

5' 9"
Senior
Business
MF
Jensen Peake

#6 Jensen Peake

6' 0"
Junior
D
Enzo Rekka

#11 Enzo Rekka

6' 1"
Freshman
F
Frederik Paulsen

#18 Frederik Paulsen

5' 5"
Freshman
D