Ravens Advance to NE-10 Semifinals
with 4-0 Win over St. Michael's
RINDGE, N.H. (November 1, 2000) -
Franklin Pierce scored three goals in the first half Wednesday en
route to a 4-0 win over St. Michael's in the first round of the
Northeast-10 Conference tournament.
The second-seeded Ravens (14-2-2) move on to host third-seeded
Merrimack College in a semifinal match Friday afternoon (2 p.m.,
Crystal Field). Merrimack (14-4) earned its way into the semifinals
with a 3-1 win over Bryant on Wednesday.
Unlike the first time Franklin Pierce and St. Michael's met -
when the Ravens needed a pair of second-half goals to take a 2-0
win in Rindge on October 12 - this game tilted in favor of the host
team early.
Senior striker Minna Mustonen (Helsinki, Finland) scored
her league-leading 19th goal of the year on a penalty kick in the
third minute and the Ravens were on their way. Julia Uusmalmi (Tampere, Finland) made it
2-0 when she scored her 14th goal of the season off a cross from
Mustonen in the 26th minute.
Tanja Pihlblad (Lonsboda, Sweden) made it
3-0 in the 35th minute, off another assist from Mustonen. The
senior co-captain upped the lead to 4-0 in the 63rd minute on a
long pass from Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland), and
now has six goals in three games, 11 for the season.
"I think Minna is playing great right now,'' Franklin Pierce
Coach Jeff Bailey said. "Julia is always a threat and Tanja
seems to be coming into her own.''
Franklin Pierce had the advantage in shots (32-2) and corner
kicks (13-1). The Ravens have now won three straight games by a
combined scored of 21-1.
"I think we're playing pretty well,'' Bailey said. "I think we
could have made things a little easier on ourselves today, but
that's three good games in a row. Hopefully that's the start of
something.''
Kim Higgins (Rochester, N.H.) made
one save to record her fifth shutout of the year, while Tara
McCuin (Highgate Center, Vt.) sparkled in net for St.
Michael's as she made 11 saves.
Franklin Pierce now turns its attention to a second meeting with
Merrimack. The Ravens beat the Warriors, 4-1, in Rindge on October
19.
Seventh-seeded St. Michael's, which is in contention for a bid
to the ECAC Division II tournament, is now 10-8-1.
|
Teams (Record)
|
1
|
2
|
OT
|
OT
|
Final
|
|
#7 Saint Michael's (10-8-1, 7-7-1)
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
|
#2 Franklin Pierce (14-2-2, 12-1-2)
|
3
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
|
Team
|
Period
|
Scorer
|
Assists
|
Time
|
|
FP
|
1
|
Minna Mustonen
|
PK
|
2:14
|
|
FP
|
1
|
Julia Uusmalmi
|
Minna Mustonen
|
25:16
|
|
FP
|
2
|
Tanja Pihlblad
|
Minna Mustonen
|
34:32
|
|
FP
|
2
|
Tanja Pihlblad
|
Anumari Ylesmaki
|
62:01
|
|
Goalkeepers
|
|
SMC: Tara McCuin, 11 saves, 90 minutes
|
|
FP: Kim Higgins (8-1-1), one save, 90 minutes
|
Corner Kicks: FP 13, SMC 0
Shots: FP 32, SMC 2
