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RINDGE, N.H. (November
1, 2000) - Franklin Pierce University
scored three
goals in the first half Wednesday en route to
a 4-0 win over St. Michael's in the first round
of the Northeast-10 Conference tournament.
The second-seeded Ravens
(14-2-2) move on to host third-seeded Merrimack
College in a semifinal match Friday afternoon
(2 p.m., Crystal Field). Merrimack (14-4) earned
its way into the semifinals with a 3-1 win over
Bryant on Wednesday.
Unlike the first time FP
and St. Michael's met - when the Ravens
needed a pair of second-half goals to take a
2-0 win in Rindge on October 12 - this game
tilted in favor of the host team early.
Senior striker
Minna
Mustonen (Helsinki, Finland)
scored her league-leading 19th goal of the year
on a penalty kick in the third minute and the
Ravens were on their way. Julia
Uusmalmi (Tampere, Finland) made
it 2-0 when she scored her 14th goal of the
season off a cross from Mustonen in the 26th
minute.
Tanja
Pihlblad (Lonsboda, Sweden) made
it 3-0 in the 35th minute, off another assist
from Mustonen. The senior co-captain upped the
lead to 4-0 in the 63rd minute on a long pass
from Anumari
Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland), and
now has six goals in three games, 11 for the
season.
``I think Minna is playing
great right now,'' FP
Coach Jeff Bailey said.
``Julia is always a threat and Tanja seems to
be coming into her own.''
FP
had the advantage
in shots (32-2) and corner kicks (13-1). The
Ravens have now won three straight games by
a combined scored of 21-1.
``I think we're playing
pretty well,'' Bailey said. ``I think we could
have made things a little easier on ourselves
today, but that's three good games in a row.
Hopefully that's the start of something.''
Kim
Higgins (Rochester, N.H.) made one
save to record her fifth shutout of the year,
while Tara McCuin (Highgate Center,
Vt.) sparkled in net for St. Michael's as she
made 11 saves.
FP
now turns its attention
to a second meeting with Merrimack. The Ravens
beat the Warriors, 4-1, in Rindge on October
19.
Seventh-seeded St. Michael's,
which is in contention for a bid to the ECAC
Division II tournament, is now 10-8-1.
| Teams
(Record) |
1 |
2 |
OT |
OT |
Final |
| #7 Saint
Michael's (10-8-1, 7-7-1) |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
0 |
| #2 Franklin
Pierce (14-2-2, 12-1-2) |
3 |
1 |
- |
- |
4 |
| Team |
Period |
Scorer |
Assists |
Time |
| FPC |
1 |
Minna
Mustonen |
PK |
2:14 |
| FPC |
1 |
Julia
Uusmalmi |
Minna
Mustonen |
25:16 |
| FPC |
2 |
Tanja
Pihlblad |
Minna
Mustonen |
34:32 |
| FPC |
2 |
Tanja
Pihlblad |
Anumari
Ylesmaki |
62:01 |
| Goalkeepers |
| SMC: Tara McCuin,
11 saves, 90 minutes |
| FPC:
Kim Higgins (8-1-1), one save, 90 minutes |
Corner Kicks: FP
13,
SMC 0
Shots: FP
32, SMC
2
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