Hislop's first-half hat trick
leads Ravens to eighth-straight Regional title
RINDGE, N.H. (November 17,
2003) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 7 in the
final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, claimed its eighth-straight NCAA
Division II New England Region title with a 4-1 victory over
third-seeded and No. 22-ranked College of Saint Rose in NCAA
Women's Soccer Tournament action at the Franklin Pierce Field
Hockey/Lacrosse Complex this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (20-2), which
reaches the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in program history,
advances to next weekend's NCAA Quarterfinal round and will host
No. 4 Adelphi University (18-1-1) on either Saturday or Sunday,
November 22-23, at a time to be announced. Adelphi reached the
quarterfinal round with a 4-1 victory over West Chester University
yesterday. This weekend's game will be a re-match of last season's
quarterfinal in which Franklin Pierce posted a 2-1 victory on Long
Island to advance to the Final Four a record 11th
straight year.
Saint Rose rounds out its season
with a 14-5-1 overall mark, having reached the regional final for
the first time in program history in its second NCAA Tournament
appearance.
"We played some great soccer today
and created some great opportunities," said Saint Rose Head Coach
Laurie Darling Gutheil. "We did a
fantastic job overall. We cannot deny the talent that they have,
but we came here and made a great run at it. This club left
everything on the
field."
Franklin Pierce was led by
sophomores Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern
Ireland) and Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan,
Ireland), both also teammates for the Republic of
Ireland National Team. Hughes had a role in all four Raven goals
with a goal and three assists. Her three assists set up Hislop's
fifth hat trick of the season.
The Ravens were without the
services of junior All-American and two-time Northeast-10 Player of
the Year Meghan Welcome (Haverhill,
Mass./Haverhill) who was forced to sit out after
being issued a red card in their 2-1 semifinal win over Southern
New Hampshire.
"Meghan works really, really hard
at all times and as captain is our leader on the field," said
Hughes. "We knew we would need someone to step up and we were able
to get through it. She'll be back next week."
Hughes and Hislop connected on
three nearly identical plays midway through the opening half to
take the wind out of Saint Rose, which carried the early momentum
in the match and registered the first two shots of the match.
Hughes served a ball from midfield over the top of the Golden
Knights defense, which sent Hislop on a break down the right side
for a touch-shot past the charging effort of sophomore goalkeeper
Kat Marasia (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) at
the 25:26 mark.
"(Hislop and Hughes) know exactly
were each other are at all times," said Franklin Pierce Head Coach
Jeff Bailey. "It's just a matter of when
Sonya turns she is able to anticipate where Laura is and make a
good pass."
The duo clicked again at 29:15 as
this time Hughes released Hislop with a through ball down the left
side one-on-one with the keeper for a shot into the lower right
side of the
goal.
Hislop rounded out her hat trick
5:39 after netting her first goal as Hughes found her with a pass
through the last line of defense for a shot into the right corner
of the net at 31:05.
"We've been playing together so
long that I know where (Hislop) makes her runs and I know she's
left-footed, so I just try to put the ball where she can do the
rest," said Hughes.
Hislop later missed on a possible
fourth goal after she was pulled down in the penalty area early in
the second half, but Marasia made a stabbing save on Hislop's
penalty kick attempt towards the left side of the goal.
Hughes put the Ravens up 4-0 at
54:47 when she curled a shot from the right side about 35-yards
from goal that snuck just under the crossbar and over the hand of
Marasia. The shot was the only one of the day by someone other than
Hislop, who took 11 of the Ravens 12 shots on the afternoon -
including their first eight of the match.
Saint Rose pulled one back at 61:28
when senior Kerri Stone (Palmer Lake, Colo./Lewis
Palmer) placed a 35-yard free kick on the right side
into the upper left-hand corner of the goal.
Marasia finished the match with six
saves for Saint Rose as the Ravens placed 11 of their 12 total
shots on net. Freshman back Kylee Litchfield (Granby,
Conn./Granby Memorial) made one stop on the line in
the first half after a Hislop shot still headed towards goal after
Marasia got an initial hand on it.
Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper
Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) made one
stop. The Ravens held a 12-7 shots advantage for the match.
The win kept the Ravens home
unbeaten streak against New England Region opponents intact at
98-matches (96-0-2) and they have still never lost a home playoff
match in 20 tries, including a 16-0 clip in NCAA Tournament play.
MATCH
STATISTICS
