Warriors end Ravens 28-match NE-10 regular season unbeaten streak

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (October 1, 2003) - Merrimack College, ranked No. 10 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, broke an 18-match winless streak against No. 4 Franklin Pierce with a 1-0 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women's soccer action between the top two teams in the New England Region at Warrior Field this afternoon.

Senior forward Lindsay Bruno (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) scored the lone goal of the match with just 2:31 remaining in regulation to lift the Warriors to victory. Bruno beat Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) to a ball from sophomore back Lindsay Sheffield (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) at the top of the box and got just enough on the ball to allow it to roll untouched into the left-hand corner of the net.

The win snaps an 18-match (17-0-1) winless streak for Merrimack at the hands of the Ravens dating back to a 2-0 victory here at Warrior Field on October 23, 1991. Franklin Pierce also sees its 28-match unbeaten streak in Northeast-10 regular season play halted. The Ravens last regular season loss to an NE-10 team came with an identical 1-0 defeat at Southern Connecticut State University on October 21, 2000. Franklin Pierce was also unbeaten in 40-straight matches against NE-10 teams including postseason play entering today's match.

Merrimack also hands Franklin Pierce its second loss of the season, marking the first time the Ravens have dropped two regular season contests since the 2000 season. Franklin Pierce dropped a match earlier this season to No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce by a 2-0 margin. The last time Franklin Pierce suffered two shutouts in a season came in the 1991 campaign when it was held scoreless on five occasions.

Franklin Pierce nearly sent the match to overtime in the closing seconds as Merrimack senior goalkeeper Erika Paiva (Rumford, R.I./St. Raphael Academy) cleared a 20-yard blast from Ravens sophomore Kirsi Ekberg (Klaukkala, Finland) just over the cross bar.            

On the ensuing corner kick, junior back Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland) kicked a loose ball in front of the net just high with less than 30-seconds on the clock.

Merrimack seemed snake bit all afternoon as it had three shots carom off the woodwork and Bruno had a shot on a wide-open net during a flurry of action 66^th minute cleared off the line by Franklin Pierce senior back Alison Considine (Needham, Mass./Needham).

Franklin Pierce nearly capitalized on its next possession when sophomore Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) broke through the Warriors defense but fired her shot straight at Paiva, who had made a great save on a Hughes free kick back in the 16^th minute.

Ravens sophomore Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) nearly sent the Ravens into the intermission with a 1-0 lead, but Paiva saved a shot ticketed for the top shelf in the 44^th minute.

Paiva made five saves to preserve her fifth shutout of the season for the Warriors. Kibsgaard finished with four saves for Franklin Pierce, who out-shot Merrimack by a 20-18 margin.

Franklin Pierce (8-2, 7-1 NE-10) returns home on Saturday afternoon to host Pace University in a Conference battle at 1 p.m. Merrimack (10-0, 8-0 NE-10) hosts LIU-Southampton on Saturday at noon.

#10 Merrimack 1, #4 Franklin Pierce 0

Scoring Summary: MC: Lindsay Bruno (Lindsay Sheffield), 87:23.

Goalkeepers: FP: Aase Kibsgaard (90:00), four saves; MC: Erika Paiva (90:00), five saves.

Shots: FP: 20, MC: 18