Hughes 100th minute goal lifts
Ravens past #3 UC San Diego
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (December 4,
2003) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 7 in the final regular season
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas
Division II poll, advanced to its sixth NCAA Division II
Championship Match with a 2-1 victory over No. 3 UC San Diego in
overtime at the Virginia Beach SportsPlex tonight.
Franklin Pierce (22-2) advances to
Saturday's National Championship match where it will face No.
2-ranked Kennesaw State University (24-1) at 6 p.m. Kennesaw State,
in its second year of existence, advanced to its first final with a
1-0 victory over 2002 runner-up University of Nebraska-Omaha
(17-4-2) in tonight's first semifinal. UC San Diego wraps up its
season with an 18-3-1 overall record.
"It's a nice relief to be back in
the final," said Head Coach Jeff Bailey.
"It was a tense game between two great teams. When you get to this
stage, it hurts more when you lose and feels better when you win
and I think we let the emotion get the best of us a little a the
end."
Sophomore midfielder
Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) scored
the match-winner with just 11-seconds left in the first overtime.
Hughes took the ball on the left flank and dribbled past three
defenders before firing a shot into the right side of the net.
"I was going to the right and
thought she knew I was right-footed," said Hughes. "So I passed it
through to my left and then went back to the right and I was just
going to hit it as hard as I could. It went right in and what a
feeling."
"I think she surprised everyone,"
said Bailey.
UC San Diego opened the scoring
just 3:40 into the match as freshman Megan Dickey (Del
Mar, Calif.) took a pass from senior
Kristin Jones (Oceanside, Calif.) and
beat two defenders before slipping a low shot into the left corner.
Dickey got the start in place of
the injury to senior All-American Megan Mendoza
(Normandy Park, Wash.) in the Tritons quarterfinal
win over No. 1-ranked Metro State (Colo.) University.
Franklin Pierce equalized in the
27th minute off a corner kick as Hughes spotted
sophomore Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern
Ireland) at the upper left corner of the 18-yard box
and passed it to her for a shot that slipped through senior
goalkeeper Kami Poma's (Redlands, Calif.)
legs.
"I saw (Hislop) lurking at the top
of the box," said Hughes. "Usually I just try to send the ball in,
but I thought 'Why Not?' and it was a good move."
Franklin Pierce advances to its
first National Championship game since 1999, when it posted a 3-1
victory over Cal Poly Pomona to claim its record fifth National
Title. The Ravens are participating in their record 12th
consecutive Final Four and are a perfect 5-0 in National
Championship matches.
"I've been involved in some big
games," said Hughes. "But this is the best feeling to get to the
final. I hope we can get past this last hurdle."
MATCH
STATISTICS
