Purple Knights hand Ravens first
home shutout in 15 years
RINDGE, N.H. (September 6,
2006) - Saint Michael's College scored on a counter attack
late in the first half and made it stand to hand Franklin Pierce,
ranked No. 22 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of
America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, a 1-0 setback in
Northeast-10 Conference women's soccer action at Sodexho Field
tonight.
Saint Michael's hands Franklin
Pierce its first home shutout since Keene State College claimed a
3-0 decision over the Ravens on November 5, 1991. The Ravens have
now lost back-to-back Conference matches for the first time in
program history and have been shutout in consecutive matches for
the first time since a 1-0 loss at Saint Anselm College on October
26, and a 0-0 draw at Keene State on Oct. 28, 1990. Franklin Pierce
last lost consecutive matches on October 2-3, 1993, to Sonoma State
University (4-3) and Mercyhurst College (2-1).
Saint Michael's, out-shot 14-2 for
the match (7-0 in the second half), scored the lone goal of the
match just 2:37 before halftime as freshman Lauren Whalley
(Shelburne, Vt./Holderness School) connected with junior
Misha Hudak (West Danville, Vt./Saint Johnsbury
Academy) on a counter-attack down the right side. Hudak
spotted Franklin Pierce junior goalkeeper Jenna Mello
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) off her line and chipped a
shot into the upper left corner of the goal from just outside the
penalty area for her first goal of the season.
Juniors Molly Cole (Dover,
N.H./Dover) and Gillian Goldman (Stratham,
N.H./Exeter) split the goalkeeping duties for Saint
Michael's. Cole made three stops over the opening 45-minutes, while
Goldman's lone save was a key stop late in regulation to preserve
the shutout.
Franklin Pierce, which placed just
five of its 14 shots on target (two on goal in the second half),
nearly took the lead in the 37th minute, but Cole made a
nice save to her right just inside the post on a Rebecca
Westbury (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) header off a
free kick.
The Ravens best chance came late in
regulation on a loose ball inside the six-yard box in the
88th minute. Senior All-American Alex Scavo
(Toronto, Ontario/Brother Andre) had a wide-open shot with
Goldman out of position cleared off the line by Saint Michael's
junior Katie Burdett (Milford, N.H./Milford), but
the rebound went directly to freshman Shannon Mulvey
(Worcester, Mass./Burncoat). However, Mulvey's shot at the
open net was stopped by a late lunging effort from Goldman.
Franklin Pierce (1-2, 0-2 NE-10)
looks to rebound on Saturday when it hosts Bryant University,
ranked fourth in this week's NSCAA/adidas Division II New England
Region poll, at 1 p.m. Saint Michael's (3-2, 1-2 NE-10) hosts
10th-ranked Merrimack College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
MATCH
STATISTICS & PLAY-BY-PLAY
