Third-seeded Golden Knights advance with two goals in each half
over second-seeded Ravens; Face Bridgeport in regional final
Boxscore
RINDGE, N.H. (November 16,
2008) - Third-seeded The College of Saint Rose, ranked
21st in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association
of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, rolled to a 4-0 victory
over second-seeded and No. 10-ranked Franklin Pierce in East
Regional semifinal action of the 2008 NCAA Division II Women's
Soccer Championships at Sodexo Field this afternoon.
Saint Rose (18-3-2) advances to the
East Regional championship for the fourth time in six NCAA
Tournament appearances and will face fourth-seeded University of
Bridgeport (18-4-1) next weekend. That match will be played at the
site of the Atlantic Regional championship (date and time TBA).
Bridgeport advanced with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded and host
LIU-C.W. Post in today's other East Region semifinal.
Franklin Pierce (15-4-2) suffers its
first ever loss in regional play since the NCAA II women's
tournament went to the format in 1996 and sees its streak of
12-straight regional championships come to an end. The 4-0 setback
is the Ravens worst in the NCAA Tournament since an identical score
line in the semifinal round of the 1998 Final Four at eventual
National Champion Lynn University. It marks the first year Franklin
Pierce has failed to win an NCAA Tournament match since 1993 - that
year the Ravens fell to Cal Poly in the Final Four.
Sophomore Amanda Schweers
(Greeley, Colo./Greeley West) led Saint Rose with a goal
and assist this afternoon, while classmate Jazmine Farrell
(Raritan, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) dished two assists.
The Golden Knights also got goals from senior Kailey Egbert
(Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity) and freshmen Christina
Cuffari (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) and Gianna
D'Errico (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury).
Junior goalkeeper Shannon
Murphy (Charlton, Mass./St. Peter Marian) made three saves
(two first half) to preserve her eighth shutout of the season
(team's 14th). Senior Brittany Ester (Toms
River, N.J./Toms River East) finished with four stops for
Franklin Pierce. Saint Rose finished with an 11-8 advantage in
shots for the match.
Saint Rose took control with two
goals in the opening 9:49 of the contest. Cuffari put the Golden
Knights ahead on the first shot of the match by either side just
2:27 in, when she dribbled down the middle of the pitch and
launched a drive from 22-yards out that beat Ester to the upper
right corner of the net for her seventh goal of the season. The
Golden Knights doubled their advantage just over seven minutes
later as D'Errico headed a cross from the right side by Schweers
into the upper left corner in the tenth minute. The goal was
D'Errico's sixth of the year.
Saint Rose iced things with two more
markers within a four-minute span towards the end of the match.
Schweers netted her first goal of the season in the 74th
minute, when she took a pass from Farrell on the right side and
lofted a high shot from 15 yards out into the left side of the net.
The Golden Knights rounded out the scoring in the 79th
when Egbert knocked in a loose ball at the far post off a pass from
Farrell for her seventh goal of the season.
The loss ends a 19-match unbeaten
streak (18-0-1) for Franklin Pierce in NCAA Tournament play against
regional opposition. The only previous blemish was a 1-1
double-overtime draw to the University of Massachusetts Lowell in
2006 in which the Ravens advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks.
