Hislop's six points and Welcome
hat trick lead Ravens after early deficit
RINDGE, N.H.
(September 10, 2003) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 3 in
this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, overcame an early deficit with
five unanswered goals to post a 5-1 victory over No. 18 Southern
Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference women's
soccer action at Crystal Field this afternoon.
Sophomore forward Laura
Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) led the attack
with six points, scoring two goals and dishing two assists. Junior
All-American Meghan Welcome (Haverhill,
Mass./Haverhill) recorded her first hat trick of the
season for the Ravens who extend their home unbeaten streak to 88
matches.
The match wasn't without its
struggles, as Southern Connecticut, ranked third in New England,
struck first in the fifth minute. Freshman Theresa
Viscardi (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem Lake) netted
the first goal of the season against the Ravens when she blasted a
pass from junior Tracie Lukert (Center Moriches,
N.Y./Center Moriches) into an open net. The play came
as a result of a defensive give away for Franklin Pierce and junior
goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen,
Norway) came off her line in an attempt to bat the
pass away.
Franklin Pierce responded quickly
as Hislop knocked in a tipped pass from freshman Alex
Scavo (Markham, Ontario/Brother Andre) at the
7:47-mark.
Both teams had entered the match
having yet to yield a goal, with Southern unscored upon over its
first 360 minutes over four matches and the Ravens boasting a
180-minute shutout string over their first two matches.
Franklin Pierce took the lead for
good in the 36th minute when Welcome slid between two
Owls defenders at the far post to connect on the end of an Hislop
cross from the right side on the break. The Ravens further took the
wind out of the Owls sails when Hislop followed up her own shot at
the 41:56-mark for her second goal of the half for a 3-1 advantage
heading into he intermission.
Welcome finished her hat trick with
two markers within an eight-minute span midway through the second
half. The first came when she was left with a wide-open shot after
a point-blank shot from Hislop couldn't be corralled by Southern
freshman goalkeeper Jaime Shertzer (East Setauket,
N.Y./Ward Melville) in the 62nd minute.
Welcome rounded out the scoring in the 70th minute when
she headed in a cross from sophomore Sonya Hughes
(Balbriggan, Ireland) from the middle of the penalty
area.
Kibsgaard registered a season-high
three saves in net for Franklin Pierce, while Shertzer finished
with seven stops for Southern.
Franklin Pierce (3-0, 3-0 NE-10)
returns to action on Friday afternoon when it visits No. 16 Texas
A&M-Commerce at 5 p.m., (ET) as part of a two-match swing
through the Lone State State over the weekend. Southern Connecticut
(4-1, 0-1 NE-10) hosts No. 11 Merrimack College on Saturday at 7
p.m.
MATCH
STATISTICS
