RINDGE, N.H. (October
19, 2000) -- After being outshot and, at times,
outplayed in the opening 45 minutes of the match,
the Franklin Pierce University
women's soccer team
responded with one of its strongest halves of
the season Thursday to pull away from Merrimack
College, 4-1, in a Northeast-10 Conference match
played out on a cold and soggy Crystal Field.
The Ravens
(11-1-1, 9-0-1 NE-10) were outshot 10-3 in the
first half and needed a long goal by Christine
Kirby (Florida, N.Y.) with 19 seconds
left before halftime to take a 2-1 lead. Kirby,
who has now scored a goal in three straight
games, took a shot from 35 yards out on the
left wing that skipped off the hands of Merrimack
goalkeeper Alison Skoglund (Haverhill,
Mass.)
Tanja
Pihlblad (Lonsboda, Sweden) had
given the Ravens a 1-0 lead in the third minute
when she converted a cross to the far post from
Minna
Mustonen (Helsinki, Finland).
The Warriors
(9-4, 8-3 NE-10) tied the game at 1-all in the
18th minute on a goal by Karina Thoene
(Calden, Germany) from 20 yards out. Merrimack
carried play for the next 10-15 minutes.
The Ravens
regrouped in the second half and controlled
play throughout. They outshot the Warriors,
14-3, and got a pair of goals by Sinikka
Salomaa (Tampere, Finland). The
first came on a blast from the top of the 18-yard-box
in the 55th minute and the second came in the
86th minute off a cross from Anumari
Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland).
Kim
Higgins (Rochester, N.H.) made four
saves for FPC, which now turns its attention
to Saturday's NE-10 showdown in New Haven, Conn.,
against first-place Southern Connecticut State
University. Game time is set for 4:30 and will
be updated live at http://www.fpc/edu.
Merrimack is
back home in North Andover, Mass., Saturday
to play the College of St. Rose.
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