Ravens claim third-straight tournament championship; Cheadle named MVP

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (November 3, 2002) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 4 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, got a pair of first-half goals and held on down the stretch to post a 2-1 victory over third-seeded and No. 23-ranked Merrimack College to claim its third-straight Northeast-10 Conference Championship in as many years in the Conference at Bulldog Stadium on the Bryant College campus this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce senior back Nicole Cheadle (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after netting her second and third goals of the postseason this afternoon and anchoring a Ravens defense that yielded just one goal in three matches.

Both of the Ravens goals came as a result of set pieces with Cheadle opening the scoring at the 18:54-mark when she was left unmarked in the 18-yard box after a corner kick and headed in a cross from senior Andrea Caesar (Visby, Sweden) right in front of the Merrimack goal.

"All season she has been trying to get a head on those," said Franklin Pierce head coach Jeff Bailey. "Finally she is putting them under the cross bar and not in the goalkeeper's hands."

The duo connected again in the 40th minute when Cheadle headed in a Caesar corner kick at the far post at the 39:23-mark. The Ravens second goal came on just their third shot of the match as Merrimack posted an 8-3 advantage in that category for the first half en route to a 15-8 advantage for the afternoon.

The Warriors cut the lead in half just 2:59 before the end of regulation as sophomore Meghan Dunn crossed the ball to the top of the Franklin Pierce 18-yard box where classmate Laurie Lamoureaux one-timed a shot into the lower left corner of the net.

The goal ended the Ravens string of 540 shutout minutes in Northeast-10 Conference Tournament play dating back to a goal by Southern Connecticut State in the 2000 Tournament title match. Franklin Pierce also had a streak of five-straight NE-10 tournament shutouts snapped with the marker.

Merrimack nearly was helped by a Franklin Pierce own goal in the final minutes as Ravens junior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) stepped in front of a clearing attempt by a teammate that ricocheted off another teammate and dangerously towards the goal.

Kibsgaard matched a career-high with five saves to preserve the victory, while Merrimack junior goalkeeper Erika Paiva stopped three shots.

"The difference today was getting ahead with a couple goals early," said Bailey, whose Ravens have not yielded more than one goal in a match this season. "Overall, we still need to play better though."

These two teams now await news on their seeding for the NCAA Division II Tournament, which will be announced on Monday, November 11. Franklin Pierce (16-0-2) will receive the top seed in the New England region, while Merrimack (14-6-1) will likely be the second-seed and host third-seeded College of Saint Rose in a first round match on Wednesday, November 13. The winner of that match would face Franklin Pierce on Saturday, November 16, in Rindge, N.H., at 1 p.m.

#1 Franklin Pierce 2, #3 Merrimack 1

Scoring Summary: FP: Nicole Cheadle (Andrea Caesar), 18:54; FP: Cheadle (Caesar), 39:23; MC: Laurie Lamoureaux (Meghan Dunn), 87:01.
Goalkeepers: MC: Erika Paiva (90:00), three saves; FP: Aase Kibsgaard (90:00), five saves.
Shots: MC: 15, FP: 8.