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Junior
Tri-Captain Angela Verdoes is ranked second among
NE-10 leaders with 47 points
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#1 FPC’s
Quest For Record Sixth National Title Goes West
Ravens will face No. 2 and fellow
undefeated Christian Brothers on neutral ground in San Diego
RINDGE, N.H. (November
19, 2001) - Top-ranked and undefeated Franklin Pierce University
(22-0) will travel 2,990 miles across the country
in quest of a record sixth NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer
National Championship as defending champion and No. 5-ranked
University of California San Diego (19-2) has been named
the host site for the 2001 semifinal and final.
The semifinal rounds
will be played on Friday, November 30,
at UC-San Diego’s North Campus Recreation Field. The two
games offer an interesting pair of match-ups as No. 1 Franklin
Pierce and No. 2 Christian Brothers University (21-0), the
lone undefeated teams remaining, square-off in the first
semifinal at 5 p.m. (8 Eastern). The second semi between
No. 4 Northern Kentucky University (22-1) and No. 5 UC-San
Diego (7:30 PST) is a rematch of last year’s national championship
match which San Diego won, 2-1, netting the gamewinning
goal with just 15-seconds left in regulation.
The Ravens posted
a dramatic 1-0 overtime win at No. 8 Lock Haven University
on Saturday to advance to its record tenth-straight final
four. Christian Brothers will make its first final four
appearance after dispatching No. 22 University of North
Florida, 7-1, in yesterday’s quarterfinal action.
FP
has needed overtime
to decide each of its NCAA Tournament contests, registering
a 2-1 win over No 13 Merrimack College in the New England
Regional Championship before Saturday’s win in extra-time
at Lock Haven. Junior forward April Mann (Brisbane, Australia/Saint
Thomas More) netted the lone goal of the match in the 93rd
minute to lead FP
to its school-record 22nd win of the
season on Saturday. The 22 wins surpass the previous record
of 21 victories set in 1997 and matched in 1998.
Mann scored with a
sliding shot off a cross from classmate Patricia Keeldar
(Amsterdam, Holland/Ter Leede). Grad Student Kim
Higgins (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding) made two saves
to preserve her eighth shutout of the season (17th career).
Keeldar, the Northeast-10
Conference Player of the Year, leads the Conference with
70 points and 30 goals (seven gamewinners) to go along with
ten assists. Mann and Angela Verdoes (Katwijk Aan
Zee, Holland/Ter Leede) are tied for second in the
Conference behind Keeldar with 47 points apiece. Mann has
totaled 17 goals (four gamewinners) and 13 assists, while
Verdoes has added a team-best 15 assists and 16 goals (four
gamewinners).
Higgins leads the
NE-10 with a 0.40 goals against average to go with a .839
save percentage and eight shutouts. She has yielded just
one goal in her last 637 minutes in goal entering the semifinals
- a 0.14 GAA. Christian Brothers has outscored its opponents
by a total of 10-2 in two NCAA Tournament matches. The Buccaneers
defeated No. 17 Barry University, 3-1, in the South Regional
final, before blasting UNF on Sunday. The combined eight
goals scored by the two teams in yesterday’s 7-1 win matched
the NCAA Division II record for goals by two teams in a
Tournament match set in an 8-0 Franklin Pierce University
win
in the 1995 quarterfinals against Mercyhurst College.
In fact the Buccaneers
have shattered several Franklin Pierce scoring records this
season. Junior Missy Gregg, a transfer from the University
of Dayton, has totaled 154 points on 72 goals and ten assists,
shattering Pauliina Miettinen’s previous record of 105 points
set in 1998. Gregg’s 72 goals is also a new Division II
record.
CBU’s 162 goals this
season broke FPC’s record of 129 markers set in 1995 and
the Buccaneer’s 7.71 goals per match is more than a goal
per game better than the Ravens NCAA record 6.45 GPG in
1995.
Junior Margaret Saurin
is second to Gregg with 75 points, aided by a new Division
II record 29 assists and 23 goals. Verdoes, who dished 24
helpers in 1999, held the previous single-season assist
record.
Junior Jennifer Simon
has seen the majority of minutes in goals and sports a 1.08
GAA and .654 save percentage with ten shutouts in 1,499
minutes of play.
The winner of FPC/CBU
matchup will face the winner of Friday’s other semifinal
between host UC-San Diego and Northern Kentucky.
San Diego advanced
to the Final Four with a 2-0 win over No. 9 University of
the Incarnate Word (Texas), while NKU defeated No. 6 Truman
State University (Mo.), 2-0, on the road on Saturday. San
Diego, winners of two-straight NCAA Championships (Division
III in 1999 - Division II in 2000), is led by senior Erika
Alfredson with 37 points with 15 goals and seven assists.
Sophomore Kristin Jones has chipped in 23 points (8 gls,
7 asts), while classmate Megan Mendoza has added 21 points
(8 & 5). Sophomore Kami Poma has seen the majority of minutes
in goal and has posted a 0.37 GAA and .920 save percentage
with ten shutouts in 1,706 minutes.
Northern Kentucky
returns to the Final Four for the third-straight year and
boasts three 50-point scorers in its arsenal. Junior Bessie
Black has totaled 55 points with 20 goals and 15 assists.
Senior Betsy Moore had added 53 points (18 gls, 17 asts),
while classmate Tricia Ruark has chipped in 51 points (15
& 21). Junior Megan Zalla has seen the bulk of action in
goal and sports a 0.39 goals against average.
The Championship match
is slated for Sunday, December 2, at 4 p.m., EST.
2001 NCAA Division
II Women’s Soccer Championship
Semifinals:
Friday, November 30 (Hosted by UC-San Diego, San Diego,
Calif.):
#2 Christian Brothers University
(21-0) vs. #1 Franklin Pierce (22-0), 8 p.m., EST #4 Northern
Kentucky University (22-1) at #5 UC-San Diego (19-2), 10:30
p.m., EST
Championship:
Sunday, December 2 (Hosted by UC-San Diego, San Diego, Calif.):
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m., EST
