Johansson plays role in all three goals as Ravens round out regular season with 3-0 victory at Stonehill

Boxscore

EASTON, Mass. (October 29, 2008) - Franklin Pierce University, ranked 13^th in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, clinched a share of its sixth Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship with a 3-0 victory at Stonehill College in the Northeast-10 Conference women's soccer regular season finale for both at Skyhawks Field this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce (13-3-1, 11-2-1 NE-10), who shares the regular season crown with The College of Saint Rose (14-3-1, 11-2-1 NE-10), earns its first regular season title since 2005 and it marks the 13^th championship overall (six regular season, seven tournament) since joining the NE-10 prior to the 2000 season. The Ravens also clinched the top seed and home field advantage throughout the upcoming NE-10 Tournament as a result of their 1-0 victory at Saint Rose on September 17 in Albany, N.Y. The Ravens will host eighth-seeded Saint Anselm College (7-9-2, 6-6-2 NE-10) in a quarterfinal round match at Sodexo Field on Sunday. Official pairings and match times will be released tomorrow afternoon.

Sophomore All-American Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden) played a role in all three Franklin Pierce goals with two goals and an assist for five points as the Ravens netted its entire haul in the opening 12:34 of the match. Junior back Rachel Smith (Chichester, N.H./Bible Baptist School (Pa.)) added a goal, while junior All-American Gabriela Demoner (Curitiba, Brazil) and seniors Kelly Johnson (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) and Kristen Cilley (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) all collected assists.

Senior goalkeeper Brittany Ester (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) was credited with seven saves to preserve her seventh shutout of the season (20^th career). The Ravens have now posted back-to-back shutouts and have conceded just one goal in their last five matches heading into the postseason. Freshman Sarah Hickey (Lee, Mass./Lee) made five stops in goal for Stonehill as Franklin Pierce finished with an 11-7 advantage in shots for the match.

Smith put Franklin Pierce in front 8:02 into the match as she knocked in a deflected shot from the right side off assists from Johansson and Cilley. The Ravens doubled their lead just 25-seconds later as Johansson accepted a through ball from Demoner, took two touches and then fired a shot in from the left side at 8:27.

Johansson rounded out the scoring just over four minutes later with her NE-10 leading 24^th goal of the season with a header on a cross by Johnson in the 13^th minute. Ester did the rest, making three stops in the closing minutes of the half and four more in the second stanza to preserve Franklin Pierce's seventh shutout of the season.

Stonehill College sees its season come to a close with a 4-13-1 record overall, 3-10-1 in the Northeast-10.