Mustonen and Uusmalmi each Score
Twice in Rout of Stonehill
NORTH EASTON, Mass. - Last year,
Minna
Mustonenhad to watch on the sidelines for most of the
match as Stonehill College stunned the Franklin Pierce women's
soccer team, 2-1, here at Chieftain Stadium.
With the NCAA Division II scoring
champion forced out of the game early in the first half with a knee
injury, the Ravens had their dominance over teams from New England
broken as the Chieftains rallied from a one-goal deficit.
Mustonen was again on the sidelines
for most of the second half Sunday when the two teams met again in
the first-ever Northeast-10 Conference game for the Ravens. This
time, however, she was on the field long to help the Ravens to a
7-0 win carved out in front of a crowd of 400 people on a picture
perfect day.
Mustonen (Helsinki, Finland) scored
two goals, including the game-winner in the 14th minute, and
assisted on two others as the defending NCAA Division II champions
avenged their only defeat to a team from New England in the past
nine years.
The top-ranked Ravens (3-0, 1-0
NE-10) have now won 17 straight matches since last year's loss to
the Chieftains.
The Ravens controlled the match from the outset, finishing with
distinct advantages in shots (36-9) and corner kicks (9-1).
The Chieftains (3-3, 1-3 NE-10)
didn't get their first shot on goal until the second half. By then,
the Ravens had broken the game open, expanding on a 2-0 halftime
lead with a three-goal flurry over a span of three minutes less
than 10 minutes in the second half.
Mustonen's game-winner came on a
blast from the top of the 18-yard box. She set up Julia
Uusmalmi (Tampere, Finland) for a goal in the final
minute of the opening half to make the score 2-0.
Jenny
Petronis (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) made it 3-0 in the 52nd
minute when Stonehill goalkeeper Kathy
Neff (Webster, Mass.) was unable to hang on to her
long shot from the right flank.
The Ravens continued the pressure
and came away with two more goals in the ensuing three minutes; the
first on a penalty kick by Mustonen and the second on a nice fed
from Mustonen to Uusmalmi inside the box.
Katy
Spencer (Burlington, Mass.) and Tanja
Pihlblad (Lonsboda, Sweden) finished out the scoring.
Spencer's goal, a blast from the 18 yard line, was the first of her
Franklin Pierce career. Her assist to Pihlblad eight minutes
later ended the day's scoring.
Franklin Pierce goalkeeper
Kara Shemeth (Edgartown, Mass.) made five
saves for her second shutout of the year. The Ravens have outscored
their opponents 26-0 in three matches.
Franklin Pierce plays next on
Wednesday, when the Ravens host St. Anselm at 3:30
