Ravens advance to quarterfinal
round with 5-2 victory over #21 Assumption
RINDGE, N.H. (November 14,
2004) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 4 in this
week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, captured its ninth-straight New
England Regional title with a 5-2 victory over second-seeded and
No. 21-ranked Assumption College in second-round action of the NCAA
Division II Women's Soccer Championship this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (20-1) advances to
the quarterfinal round and will face No. 8-ranked Adelphi
University next Saturday, November 20, on the road at 12:30 p.m.
Adelphi advanced with a 5-1 victory over top-seeded and host
Southampton College in the Northeast Regional final earlier today.
Next weekend will mark the third-straight meeting in the NCAA
Quarterfinal for Franklin Pierce and Adelphi, as the Ravens won
each of the last two years by identical 2-1 score lines.
"Adelphi has really made a move
over the past month," said Franklin Pierce Head Coach
Jeff Bailey. "They got off to a slow
start, but have come on a ton. We expect another touch match like
the last two years have been."
Assumption, which got a goal and
assist from junior Andrea Marcoccio (Warwick,
R.I./Warwick), sees its most successful season in
program history come to a close with a 15-6 record overall.
"We didn't play our best game
today, which is disappointing," said Assumption Head Coach
Neil Stafford. "However, I'm not going to
judge our season on one game, it's been a great ride. We have got
an incredible group and our team chemistry is great, which is why
we've been so successful this
season."
Franklin Pierce got a five-point
effort from senior All-American Meghan Welcome
(Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill), who totaled two goals
and an assist. She netted the Ravens third goal of the match, which
would prove to be the 27th match-winning goal of her
career, surpassing the program record of 26 set by former
three-time All-American Pauliina Miettinen from 1995-98.
Junior Sonya Hughes
(Balbriggan, Ireland) netted a pair of goals on free
kicks and All-American Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern
Ireland) chipped in a goal and assist.
"Franklin Pierce has so many
weapons," said Stafford. "You focus on Hislop and somebody else
kills you."
Hughes struck first just 1:20 into
the match when she curled a 22-yard free kick from just above the
upper left corner of the penalty area into the upper left corner of
the net. It marked the fourth time in the last six matches the
Ravens have scored within the first seven minutes of a match.
Welcome doubled the Franklin Pierce
advantage in the 26th minute when she tipped in a cross
from the right side by freshman Taryn Welker (Wayne,
Pa./Conestoga) at the far post. Welcome netted the
Ravens third goal in the 65th minute when a long pass
over the top of the defense by Hislop sent her in on a break.
Welcome headed the ball past charging Assumption freshman
goalkeeper Lauren Matysiak (Holden,
Mass./Wachusett) before tipping it into a wide-open
net.
The teams then combined to net four
goals within a four-minute span. Hughes started the flurry with a
second free kick marker, this one from the left channel 30-yards
from goal that curled inside the left post at 68:45 to give the
Ravens a 4-0 lead.
Assumption got on the board at
70:22 on a counter attack when freshman Kim Sullivan
(Natick, Mass./Natick) fed Marcoccio for a break and
a shot from the top of the penalty area inside the right post.
The Ravens answered 17-seconds
later when Welcome sent Hislop in on a break for a shot from the
left channel into the lower right corner of the net at 70:39.
The Greyhounds netted their second
goal at 72:43 when freshman Ashley McMahon (Bethel,
Conn./Immaculate) headed in a cross at the far post
from Marcoccio. Marcoccio had a chance to close the gap to 5-3 less
than a minute later but her shot from the top of the box caromed
off the crossbar at 73:33.
Franklin Pierce freshman goalkeeper
Jenna Mello (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) preserved the win with four saves,
while Matysiak finished with two stops.
"We're getting goals from some
different people, which you need as the games get more important,"
said Bailey. "Overall, I thought we made too many mistakes today.
We're just fortunate that (Assumption) didn't take advantage of
them until late."
MATCH
STATISTICS
