Top-Seeded Franklin Pierce to Face 
#5 Southern N.H., on the Road
No. 7 Ravens and Penwomen to battle for 
NE-10 Championship match berth 

RINDGE, N.H. (November 4, 2003) – The top-seeded Franklin Pierce women’s soccer team’s, quest for a fourth-straight Northeast-10 Conference Tournament title will take a slight detour when they hit the road to face fifth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University in a semifinal round match tomorrow at 3 p.m.

            Franklin Pierce (16-2, 13-1 NE-10), ranked No. 7 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, was forced to forgo its home field advantage due to continued wet playing fields on campus. The match will now be played on Southern New Hampshire’s Penman Field as ruled by the Northeast-10 today.

The match will be webcast live by Southern New Hampshire's campus radio at www.radioactive1620.com

            Franklin Pierce, winners of all three NE-10 Tournament titles since joining the Conference in 2000, advanced to the semifinal round with a commanding 6-0 victory over eighth-seeded Pace University on Sunday in a match played at the College’s Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex due to unplayable conditions at Crystal Field. Sophomore forward Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) totaled seven points with three goals and an assist to lead the Ravens, while junior All-American Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) tallied a goal and three assists. Senior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) registered three saves to preserve her seventh shutout of the season.            

Hislop, this week’s Northeast-10 Player of the Week, leads the Conference with 65 points (2^nd in Division II) and leads all of Division II with 21 assists to go with 22 goals (6^th) which ranks second only to Welcome’s 23 goals (5^th Division II) among Conference leaders. Hislop’s 21 assists are just three shy of the program’s single-season record of 24 set by Angela Verdoes in 1999.

            Welcome ranks second to Hislop among NE-10 leaders with 52 points (7^th DII) to go with six assists. She leads the team with eight match-winning goals this season and has totaled 19 for her career. Welcome netted her 50^th career goal in Sunday’s win over Pace, which ranks sixth all-time.

            Also aiding in the Ravens offensive effort this season are sophomore Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland), with 20 points on 12 assists (2^nd NE-10) and four goals, and freshman Alex Scavo (Markham, Ontario/Brother Andre), with 18 points on seven goals and four assists.

            Kibsgaard, this week’s NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week, anchors the Franklin Pierce defensive unit as she leads the NE-10 with a 0.55 goals against average to go with an .833 save percentage and seven shutouts. She currently ranks fifth all-time at the College with 15 career shutouts, while her 0.59 career goals against ranks third all-time and her .810 career save percentage ranks fifth all-time.            

Southern New Hampshire (11-3-4, 8-3-3 NE-10), ranked fourth in this week’s NSCAA New England Region poll, advanced to the semifinal round with a 2-1 upset at fourth-seeded Bryant College in double-overtime on Sunday. Junior Lindsay Parks (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) netted both SNHU goals, including the match-winner 1:32 into the second sudden death overtime session. Her goal in the 52^nd minute knotted the score after the Bulldogs had opened the scoring in the 34^th minute.

            Parks leads the Penwomen in scoring this season with 23 points (13^th NE-10) and 11 goals to go with one assist. Senior Erica Flynn (Scituate, Mass./Scituate), junior Liz Wheeler (Manchester, N.H./Holderness School) and sophomore Jennifer Pezzarossi (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) all follow with three goals and two assists for eight points apiece.

            Senior goalkeeper Anastasia Carson (Wylie, Texas/Manchester (N.H.) Memorial) has been the cornerstone to Southern’s success this season as she ranks third in the NE-10 with a 0.79 goals against average, while her .850 save percentage ranks second in the Conference and her six shutouts third. She averages 4.72 saves per match.

            The winner of tomorrow’s match will advance to the NE-10 Championship match and face the winner of tomorrow’s other semifinal between third-seeded College of Saint Rose (14-3-1, 10-3-1 NE-10) and second-seeded Merrimack College (18-2, 12-2 NE-10) on Sunday at 1 p.m.

            Should the Ravens advance tomorrow, Franklin Pierce officials plan to host Sunday’s Championship match on campus as a favorable weather forecast later in the week should provide enough recovery time for the fields.

2003 Northeast-10 Conference 
Women’s Soccer Championships

QUARTERFINALS
Sunday, November 2:
#1 Franklin Pierce 6, #8 Pace 0
#5 Southern New Hampshire 2, #4 Bryant 1 – 2OT
#3 Saint Rose 3, #6 Southern Connecticut State 0
#2 Merrimack 1, #7 Bentley 0 – 2OT  

SEMIFINALS
Wednesday, November 5
#3 Saint Rose at #2 Merrimack, 2 p.m.
#1 Franklin Pierce at #5 Southern New Hampshire, 3 p.m.  

CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, November 9
Saint Rose/Merrimack winner vs. Southern N.H./Franklin Pierce winner, 1 p.m.