Henning Come: A Scoring Machine

Elephants: enormous, and their presence is known by anyone who comes into contact with them. They are intelligent creatures with amazing strength and power, and they always travel in herds.

Franklin Pierce soccer superstar Henning Comé has the characteristics of an elephant, on the field: He's shrewd, always in position to score.

He's strong. His power has helped him lead the team and the NE 10 conference in goals (9) and points (21).

He leaves a presence on the field. Opposing defenses fear him, especially in a September 12 win against Assumption College, when he scored three goals in the opening 11 minutes of the contest.

He's a loyal teammate. Comé is inseparable with his teammates on and off the field. He sees them as his family.

Elephants mean a lot to the 6'2'', 175-pound sophomore from Gothenburg, Sweden. They're more than just a colossal animal to the Ravens forward. Comé has a tattoo of one on his right bicep and around his neck he wears a gold chain with the head of an elephant on it.

According to Comé, elephant families look out for each other, and like an elephant, Comé looks out for his teammates and the people he loves. The African elephant also symbolizes Comé's ethnicity, as his father hails from Maputo, Mozambique. "They help me remember where I'm from," he said.

Comé knows he has to always remember his past, before he can look ahead to his soccer future. The twenty-two-year-old sophomore was born in Norway and raised in Sweden, where his mother is from. He has been playing soccer since the age of six. Before coming to America, he played club soccer for V?stra Frölunda. He wasn't taught the English language until he was in the sixth grade, and he did not come to America until last year, when he attended Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee. The transition to America wasn't easy for Comé.

"Last year I missed home, but it [the move to America] just has to be done," said Comé. After being contacted by Coach Marco Koolman and with the help of his agent, Comé decided to transfer to Franklin Pierce because of the excellent soccer program at this University. He now feels comfortable here in America. He's at a new school, in a better soccer conference, and it's now tough to find this soccer star on the Franklin Pierce campus without a jovial smile on his bearded face. Comé says that his favorite thing about Franklin Pierce University is the people who make him feel so comfortable here. The men's soccer star has adjusted smoothly into Franklin Pierce, with the help of other European players, Matthijs Eppinga and Marek Hawrylik. "They are good friends," said Comé about his fellow European teammates. "They show me around and what to do."

Comé has easily adjusted to the American style of soccer too. He believes American soccer is quicker, with more substitutes than European soccer. On September 17th he was named NE 10 player of the week when he scored five goals in one week. The sophomore striker aspires to play like his favorite professional player, Thierry Henry. Comé has now emerged as a scoring machine in only his first season with the Ravens. He is currently averaging 1.12 goals per game. His nine goals and 21 points lead the whole NE-10 Conference. The most memorable game was when he scored a hattrick in the first 11 minutes against Assumption College. "I've been in the right place at the right time," said Comé. "I hope to win the games and I want to score in every game."

Comé's success on the field has helped the Ravens win six straight games, all against NE-10 opponents. The Ravens are currently 7-1-1, 6-0-0 NE-10 and are nationally ranked at #14 in the country. Comé has added a special spark to the 2007 team, and this year, like every other year the Ravens are looking to win their first ever NCAA Division II Championship. Comé's presence on the field could be the element the Ravens have been missing in previous years.

Like elephants, the Ravens are traveling together in herds. They have won seven of their last 8 games and are trampling all of their opponents, with Henning Comé at the lead.