Rindge, N.H. - In a showdown between two Top 25 nationally-ranked programs to close out the regular season, the No. 23 Adelphi University men's soccer team fell 3-0 to No. 1 Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday afternoon at Sodexo Field.

Adelphi (8-4-4, 5-4-2 NE10) entered today's action in sole possession of second place in the NE10 standings, but four teams were within grasp of pushing the Panthers down the table.

Each of those four teams -- Southern Connecticut, Saint Rose, Assumption and SNHU -- all prevailed to send Adelphi on the road for Saturday's NE10 quarterfinal contest.

While the Panthers were outshot 13-2 in the match, Adelphi and Franklin Pierce (17-0-1, 10-0-1 NE10) played a scoreless opening half.

As the second half got underway, the Ravens almost struck off the opening whistle.

Although Adelphi kept Braudillo Rodrigues -- the conference's leading scorer -- off the board, Franklin Pierce's Miguel Angel Pastor Gutierrez broke the tie with a clean header less than a minute into the half.

In goal, Daniel De La Heras made his 13th start of the season -- a career-high -- and came up with six stops. His 53 saves to this point in 2022 are also a career-best.

Head Coach Gary Book and the Panthers await their seeding in the 2022 NE10 Championship, which will commence with first-round competition Saturday (Oct. 29).