MANCHESTER, N.H. – Coming off its Homecoming win last week, the Pace University football team dropped a 24-16 contest at Saint Anselm College on Saturday.

Down 24-6 after three full quarters, the Setters nearly pulled off a late comeback. Pace engineered two long drives in the fourth quarter to get within eight points with less than a minute remaining.

A Ben Franchino (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) field goal cut the Hawks' lead to 24-9 at the 13:53 mark of the fourth, while Carlton Aiken (Gibbstown, N.J./Paulsboro) tossed a touchdown pass to Franklin Castillo Diaz (Goffstown, N.H./Goffstown) with 50 seconds on the clock.

Pace's furious rally came to an end on an unsuccessful onside kick. The Setters had recovered an onside kick earlier in the fourth quarter.

The Setters' other touchdown on Saturday was a 21-yard scoring run by senior Brandon Sobotker (West Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) that cut the Saint Anselm lead to 17-6 with 4:57 remaining in the second quarter.

Sobotker served as Pace's top rusher in the game with 53 yards on 10 carries, while Aiken racked up 238 yards through the air.

Senior Ramir Tann-Davis (Paterson, N.J./Paterson Eastside) caught six of Aiken's tosses for a team-high 90 receiving yards. Danny Taylor (Burlington, Conn./Xavier) and Darnell McCray (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) were also productive targets, combining for eight catches and 99 yards.

Pace's defense didn't allow a single point in the second half on Saturday. Individually, Nasier Givens (Newark, N.J./Orange) and Jaden Farrow (Brooklyn, N.Y./Canarsie) each registered a team-high nine tackles, while combining for 2.5 tackles-for-loss.

In the secondary, Neimar Santouse (Clifton, N.J./Passaic County Technical Institute) and Brandon Holt (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) each grabbed their second interceptions of the season.

Up Next
The Setters return home next Saturday to host Stonehill College at noon.