Ravens edge eight-seeded Southern
Connecticut State, 4-3, in penalty shootout
RINDGE, N.H. (October 30,
2005) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 5 in this
week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, survived a serious scare from
eighth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University, advancing 4-3
in a penalty shootout in quarterfinal round action of the
Northeast-10 Conference women's soccer tournament, presented by
Select Sports this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (14-1-2, 12-1-1
NE-10) advances to Wednesday's semifinal round where it will host
fourth-seeded Merrimack College (14-4-1, 9-4-1 NE-10). Match-time
will be announced tomorrow at www.franklinpierce.edu
/athletics. The Warriors advanced this afternoon with a 2-1
victory over fifth-seeded Bryant University. Southern Connecticut
falls to 11-5-3 with today's setback.
The two sides played to a 1-1
double-overtime draw as Franklin Pierce erased an early 1-0 deficit
with an equalizer early in the second half. The Ravens then
advanced in the penalty shootout, 4-3. Sophomore goalkeeper
Jenna Mello (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) stopped Southern Connecticut's
fourth and fifth kicks to help overcome an early Raven miss. Senior
Elizabeth Allen (Durham, N.H./Oyster
River) converted the Ravens fifth kick to send her
team into the semifinal round.
Southern came out firing early in
the match, registering the first three shots, nearly scoring just
28-seconds into the contest. The Owls didn't wait much longer, as
freshman Natalie Polnik (Ashford, Conn./EO
Smith) scored on a far post rebound, off the initial
shot by senior Christina DelBuono (Wolcott, Conn./Holy
Cross), on their third shot just 3:52 into the
contest.
Franklin Pierce, which out-shot
Southern 16-4 from there, including 11-2 over the final 65 minutes,
took advantage of a mistake by junior Stephanie
McGinley (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) to equalize.
Junior Alex Scavo (Toronto, Ontario/Brother
Andre) broke in down the left side and fired a low
angle shot that squirted through McGinley's legs and into the goal
at the near post at 58:02.
Senior All-American
Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
had the Ravens best chances in the closing minutes as she had a
drive from 12-yards out smothered by McGinley in the
82nd minute and another scooped off the deck in the
86th.
The Ravens, who out-shot the Owls
3-0 in the two overtimes, nearly took advantage of an error by
defense in the first extra period when a Hislop corner curled on
goal, forcing McGinley to alertly make the save. Scavo one-timed a
serve from the right side that just missed wide with 25-seconds
left in the first overtime.
Neither team produced any scoring
opportunities in the second extra session. Southern took an early
advantage in the shootout when McGinley saved Hislop's attempt on
the Ravens first kick. The Owls held a 3-2 edge after three rounds
before Mello made a diving stop to her right on
Annmarie Janes (Shelton, Conn./Shelton)
attempt. After the Ravens knotted the shootout, 3-3, Mello stopped
senior Amber Meimers (Mansfield, Conn./EO
Smith) to her left, setting up Allen's deciding kick
in the Ravens fifth round.
MATCH
STATISTICS
