Hughes' last-minute strike lifts
Ravens to record sixth-straight tournament title
RINDGE, N.H. (November 6,
2005) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 5 in this
week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, collected its record
sixth-straight Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship with
a 1-0 victory over second-seeded and No. 18-ranked Assumption
College in the 2005 NE-10 title match, presented by Select Sports,
tonight.
Senior All-American
Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland)
collected a loose ball off a turnover at midfield and fired a shot
from 30-yards out in the center of the pitch that settled into the
upper right-hand corner of the net with just 38-seconds remaining
in regulation to lift Franklin Pierce to its record sixth NE-10
Tournament title. The win extended the Ravens record title streak
as they have claimed all six crowns since joining the Conference in
2000.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Jenna Mello (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) made just one save to preserve the
victory and her seventh shutout of the season (14th
career), but it was a key stop to keep the match scoreless just
after the hour mark. Assumption sophomore Kim Sullivan
(Natick, Mass./Natick) broke in one-on-one on the
right side, but Mello got her hands up to stop her initial shot at
the near post. The rebound went back to Sullivan, but her rebound
shot went off the side netting at 62:13.
Assumption sophomore goalkeeper
Lauren Matysiak (Holden, Mass./Wachusett
Regional) made five saves as the Greyhounds were
out-shot 16-6 for the match. Matysiak also got solid play from her
back line, including junior Michaela Morrisroe
(Marlboro, Mass./Marlboro), who cleared a header by
Franklin Pierce freshman Rebecca Westbury (Northbridge,
Mass./Northbridge) off the line 7:49 into the second
half.
Hughes, who has scored the Ravens
last three goals and was named Tournament MVP, nearly broke the ice
2:24 into the second as her one-timed shot from the top of the 18
had Matysiak beaten, but caromed off the upper right corner of the
woodwork.
Assumption had a break in the
78th minute as sophomore Ashley McMahon
(Bethel, Conn./Immaculate) found herself one-on-one
with Mello, but fired her shot off the side netting from close
range.
The victory avenged the Ravens lone
loss of the season, a 3-2 setback to the Greyhounds on September
14, in which senior Andrea Marcoccio (Warwick,
R.I./Pilgrim) scored her second goal of the match
with 36-seconds left in regulation after Franklin Pierce erased a
2-0 halftime deficit.
Franklin Pierce (16-1-2, 12-1-1
NE-10) and Assumption (14-3-4, 9-2-3 NE-10) are pretty much locks
to receive NCAA Tournament bids when they are announced tomorrow
afternoon.
MATCH
STATISTICS
