#16 Franklin Pierce Hits Road
Third-seeded Ravens visit top-seeded
RINDGE, N.H. (November 13, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team, ranked 16th in the National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, hits the road in search of its 12th-straight New England Regional Championship and will face top-seeded and No. 3-ranked College of Saint Rose in third round action of the 2007 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Tournament at The Albany Academy for Girls on Friday at 11 a.m.
Franklin Pierce (15-1-5, 9-1-4 NE-10) advanced to the regional final with a 3-0 victory at second-seeded and eighth-ranked Bryant University on Sunday. The Ravens opened the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 win over Holy Family University on Friday. Saint Rose (19-0-2), regular season and tournament champions in the Northeast-10 this fall, advanced with a 3-1 victory over fourth-seeded Merrimack College on Sunday. Admission for this weekend’s games is $7 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and students with ID and $3 for children 12 and under.
Friday marks the second-straight season and third time in five years Franklin Pierce and Saint Rose will meet in the regional final. The Ravens posted a 3-1 victory in the 2006 regional final behind a goal and two assists from senior All-American Gabriela Demoner (Curitiba, Brazil). Sophomore Jordan Bowers (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty) scored for the Golden Knights.
Friday will mark the 17th meeting all-time, the fifth in postseason play and fourth in the NCAA Tournament. Franklin Pierce holds a 12-1-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs, winning all three previous NCAA Tournament encounters and all four postseason meetings overall. The Ravens are 4-1-1 against Saint Rose in Albany. The two sides played to a 0-0 double-overtime draw in the regular season meeting between the two clubs on September 1.
Franklin Pierce is making its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance and is in search of its record 14th Final Four berth this weekend. The Ravens lead the Northeast-10 in scoring, averaging 3.10 goals per match (11th nationally) and are second with a 0.54 team goals against average (13th) and 13 shutouts (9th).
Demoner, the Daktronics New England Region and NE-10 Player of the Year, leads the Conference with 65 points (3rd nationally) and 27 goals (5th), while her team-leading 11 assists are good for second in the NE-10 (29th). Senior Jenna Giardina (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic), a second team Daktronics All-New England and All-Northeast-10 pick, shares the team lead with 11 assists (2nd NE-10, 29th nationally) to go with seven goals for 25 points (7th NE-10). She has also netted a Conference-best four match-winning goals.
Franklin Pierce’s defense is anchored by sophomore Rachel Smith (Chichester, N.H./Bible Baptist School (Pa.)) and freshman Kelly Weygand (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham). Smith, a Daktronics All-New England and All-Conference pick this fall, leads all Raven defenders with four goals and two assists for ten points, while Weygand, a Daktronics All-Region selection, has contributed a goal and five assists for seven points. She dished three assists in the Ravens two NCAA Tournament wins over the weekend.
Junior goalkeeper Brittany Ester (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) has yet to allow a goal in postseason play for Franklin Pierce. In addition to her 380 scoreless minutes through four postseason matches so far, Ester carries a scoreless stretch of 408:11 dating back to the 62nd minute of a 5-2 victory over Southern Connecticut State University in the Ravens regular season finale. Ester leads the NE-10 with nine shutouts and is ranked third among NE-10 leaders with a 0.50 goals against average (8th nationally) and .869 save percentage (11th).
Saint Rose, making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, will be attempting to capture its first regional title on Friday. The Golden Knights lead the NE-10 with a 0.42 team goals against average (5th nationally) and 15 shutouts (2nd), while ranking second in scoring with 2.67 goals per match (19th).
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Steinberg (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) has played 1,516:31 over 20 starts for Saint Rose and ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.42 GAA (4th nationally) and .883 save percentage (6th) to go with six shutouts (5th NE-10). Sophomore Kira Duran (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty) anchors the Saint Rose defense that has allowed more than one goal in a match just three times this season and has chipped in a goal for two points.
Junior Sami Brown (Richland, Wash./Hanford) leads Saint Rose with 15 goals (2nd NE-10) to go with an assist for 31 points (3rd). Senior Ashley McGuire (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay) leads the NE-10 with 14 assists (5th nationally) to go with six goals for 26 points (6th NE-10), while senior Lindsay Bove (Holliston, Mass./Holliston) has contributed eight goals and five assists for 21 points (10th NE-10).
The winner of Friday’s match will face the winner of the second match of the day for the Northeast Region Championship between top-seeded and seventh-ranked LIU-C.W. Post (17-1-2) and second-seeded and 19th-ranked West Chester (Pa.) University (17-2-2) in an NCAA Quarterfinal match on Sunday at the Albany Academy at 1 p.m.
2007 NCAA Division II New England Regional
Friday, November 9 Saint Rose sub-regional #4 Merrimack 1, #5 UMass Lowell 0 Bryant sub-regional #3 Franklin Pierce 4, #6 Holy Family 0
Sunday, November 11 #1 Saint Rose 3, #4 Merrimack 1 #3 Franklin Pierce 3, #2 Bryant 0
November 16 Hosted by The College of Saint Rose Albany Academy for Girls, Albany, N.Y.
New England Regional Championship Northeast Regional Championship #2 West Chester (Pa.) (17-2-2) vs. #1 LIU-C.W. Post (17-1-2), 1:30 p.m.
November 18
Albany Academy for Girls, Albany, N.Y. |
