Finland upset Denmark to reach semifinal round in first Championship appearance

BLACKPOOL, England (June 13, 2005) - Former Franklin Pierce All-American Minna Mustonen (Helsinki, Finland) and the women's national team of Finland have reached the semifinals of the 2005 UEFA European Women's Championship taking place this month in England.

Finland reached the knockout stage with a 2-1 upset of Denmark on Saturday at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool. Mustonen, who has appeared in all three matches in the group phase, entered the Finns match with Denmark as a reserve in the 89^th minute. Finland took an early 2-0 lead in the match with goals in the sixth and 16^th minutes before Denmark cut the lead in half with a marker in the 45^th.            

Mustonen has played a total of 88 minutes over Finland's three matches last week, including a start in Wednesday's 0-0 draw with Sweden - playing 71 minutes. She entered Finland's opening match with England, a 3-2 loss in which they yielded the winning goal in extra time after rallying from a 2-0 first half deficit, in the 74^th minute and was involved in the Finns 88^th minute goal that knotted the score at 2-2.

Finland, which earned a berth in the European Championship for the first time in the countries' history (men or women), finished tied for second in the Group A standings with Denmark behind group winners Sweden. Finland will next face Group B winners Germany in a semifinal match in Preston, England, on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. (EST). The winner will face the winner of Thursday's semifinal between Norway and Sweden for the European Championship on Sunday, June 19, at Ewood Park in Blackburn.

Mustonen was a two-time All-American at Franklin Pierce from 1998-2000. The 1999 NCAA Division II scoring champion, with 81 points, still ranks third in program history with 171 career points, second with 70 goals and tenth with 31 assists over her three year career with the Ravens. In 1999, she earned New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Player of the Year honors as she registered 34 goals and 13 assists for 81 points in leading Franklin Pierce to its fifth Division II National Championship.