#7
Franklin Pierce To Battle
Franklin Pierce (22-2), participating in its record 12th-consecutive
Division II Final Four, is in search of a record sixth National
Championship. Kennesaw State (24-1) is in just its second year of
existence and has advanced to the title game for the first time after
reaching the Southeast Regional Final in 2002. With its sixth appearance in the championship match, Franklin Pierce broke its deadlock with Barry University who had joined the Ravens in having appeared in five title games. The Ravens have never lost a championship match, going 5-0 to claim National Championships in 1994, ’95, ’96, ’97 and ’99. Since 1999, Franklin Pierce had dropped three-straight semifinal matches before last night.
Franklin
Pierce advanced to the final with a 2-1 overtime victory over No.3 UC
San Diego at the Virginia Beach SportsPlex. Sophomore midfielder Sonya
Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) played a role in both Raven
goals, netting the match-winner with just 11-seconds left in the first
overtime period. Hughes collected the ball on the left flank then
darted into the penalty area and beat three UCSD defenders before
blasting a low shot into the left side of the net. Hughes assisted on
classmate Laura Hislop’s (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
equalizer in the 27th minute after the Tritons had staked
out a 1-0 lead just 3:47 into the match.
Kennesaw State reached the final with a 1-0 victory over 2002
runners-up University of Nebraska-Omaha. Freshman Alissa Saylor
(Fayetteville, Ga.) netted the lone goal of the match at the
59:33-mark, assisted by sophomore midfielder Jenae Gzehoviak
(Marietta, Ga.).
Saturday will mark the first ever meeting between the
two-sides. Franklin Pierce is led by the All-American offensive duo of two-time Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) and Hislop. The pair have accounted for 148 of the team’s points this season, including 58 of their 86 goals scored on the season. They have also netted 17 of the Ravens 22 match-winning goals.
Hislop
leads Division II with 85 points and 23 assists, while her 31 goals
rank second in the nation. Her 85 points is the sixth highest
single-season total in NCAA Division II history and is already good
for 13th on the College’s career scoring list. Hislop’s
23 assists are just one shy of former Raven All-American Angela
Verdoes’ single-season record of 24 set in 1999 and is tied for the
fifth-highest single-season total in Division II history.
The first-team All-Northeast-10 Conference selection has
stepped up her game in the postseason, totaling 27 points on 12 goals
(four match-winners) and three assists through seven postseason
matches (includes Conference tournament). Hislop has totaled 11 points
with five goals and an assist in the Ravens four NCAA Tournament games
so far. She has also totaled 18 points with seven goals and four
assists in seven games against ranked opponents.
Welcome ranks second only to Hislop among Conference leaders
with 63 points and 27 goals, while her nine assists rank third on the
team. Her ten match-winning strikes lead the Ravens.
Welcome has set nearly every scoring record at the College for
US-born players as her point and goal totals from this season have
surpassed her record totals of 46 points and 20 markers in 2002. She
ranks sixth in program history with 128 career points and 54 career
goals, both of which are highest in program history for American
players.
Welcome has totaled 16 points with five goals (two
match-winners) and six helpers in six postseason games this season,
including a goal and assist for three points in the NCAA Tournament.
Against ranked teams this fall, she has totaled seven goals (three
winners) and an assist for 15 points.
Hughes has been the Ravens offensive “quarterback” all
season long in the central midfield. She has totaled 35 points this
fall with eight goals and 19 assists, which ranks second only to
Hislop in the NE-10 and is tied for the 14th-highest
single-season total in Division II history. Hughes has also been a major postseason contributor with 17 points on five goals and seven assists, including four goals and four assists for 12 points in four NCAA Tournament matches. Her four assists is just one shy of the NCAA Division II Tournament record set by former Ravens All-American Nathalie Geeris in 1995 and matched two other times, including once by another former Franklin Pierce All-American, Pauliina Miettinen in 1997. The second-team All-Conference pick has registered three goals and seven assists for 13 points against ranked teams.
The
backbone of the Ravens defense, which is tops in the Northeast-10 this
season, is senior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway)
who boasts a 0.78 goals against average and .800 save percentage with
seven shutouts this season. The two-time All-Conference selection
ranks fourth in program history with a 0.70 career goals against
average, while her 15 career shutouts are good for fifth all-time.
Also spearheading the Ravens defense is junior co-captain Martta
Makila (Vantaa, Finland), an All-NCAA Tournament selection
last year, who has also totaled nine points with three goals and three
assists this year. She teams with senior Alison Considine
(Needham, Mass./Needham), an All-NE-10 pick this fall, and
freshmen Kristen Lake (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) and
Mia Makarainen (Espoo, Finland).
Kennesaw State is in search of its first National Championship
in women’s soccer in just its second year of varsity status. The
Owls, who have posted an overall record of 42-1-1 over their first two
seasons, feature an offense that has four players with 30-or-more
points and nine in double-digits for points.
Gzehoviak leads the Owls offense with 51 points on 14 goals and
a team-leading 23 assists, which matches Franklin Pierce’s Hislop
for tops in Division II. Junior Jessie Fream (Marietta, Ga.)
has totaled 47 points with 19 goals and nine assists, while freshman Laura
Tucker (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) has added 44 points with a team-best
20 goals (team-best seven match-winners) and four assists. Rounding
out the 30-point scorers with freshman Stephanie Grzeszkowiak
(Marietta, Ga.) with 13 goals and six assists for 32 points.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Marek (Huntsville, Ala.)
has seen the bulk of minutes in goal and boasts a 0.46 goals against
average and .885 save percentage with 11 shutouts this season.
2003
NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN’S SOCCER FINAL FOUR Virginia
Beach SportsPlex (Virginia Beach, Va.) Semifinals Championship
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