2005
NCAA DIVISION II QUARTERFINAL
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RINDGE,
N.H. (November 19, 2005) –
After a one year hiatus, Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 4 in the final
regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas
Division II poll, will make its record 13th NCAA Division II
Final Four appearance in 14 years after collecting a 2-1 victory over
No. 5-ranked West Chester (Pa.) University in quarterfinal round action
of the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship at Sodexho Field
this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (19-1-2) will face the winner of tomorrow’s
quarterfinal between No. 7 University of Nebraska-Omaha (17-2-0) and No.
11 Grand Valley State (Mich.) University (19-2-0), which will be held in
Omaha at 1 p.m. (EST). The final four is being hosted by Midwestern
State University, in Wichita Falls, Texas, and will begin with semifinal
round action on Thursday, December 1, with the National Champion being
crowned on Saturday, December 3. Franklin Pierce’s match time will be
announced on Monday.
West Chester sees its season come to a close at 20-2-2, setting a program record for wins and currently holding the NCAA Division II record with 18 shutouts.
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“I thought we had the tone of the game today,” said West
Chester head coach Tara Koleski. “We dominated the
second half and we had our chances, but didn’t take care of our
opportunities.”
West Chester entered the match with the top defense in the
country, but Franklin Pierce pressured the Golden Rams 2-5-3 formation
from the outset, finding considerable space. Senior All-Americans Laura
Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) and Sonya Hughes
(Balbriggan, Ireland) combined to put the Ravens in front just
9:31 into the match. Hislop spotted Hughes with a pass over the top of
the WCU defense from the right side that hit Hughes in stride for a
touch before finding the upper right corner for her seventh goal of the
postseason (including NE-10 play) and 13th of the year.
Hislop put West Chester down 2-0 for the first time this season
when she beat a defender, then broke in one-on-one with senior
goalkeeper Heather Rinker (Norristown, Pa./Methacton).
Hislop fired the ball into the left side for her team-leading 23rd
goal of the season.
“(Hislop) is a brilliant player,” said Koleski. “She created a lot of chances for Franklin Pierce. I thought we gave (Franklin Pierce) a little bit too much respect early on, but we got back into it. The second half was good West Chester soccer. Sometimes the game just doesn’t go the way you want it to.”
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Franklin Pierce continued to have the flow of the match until it
was whistled for the foul just outside the upper right corner of the
penalty area in the 28th minute. Freshman Brittany
Yetter (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) brilliantly struck the free kick
into the upper left corner of the net to pull the Golden Rams back
within a goal with 62-minutes left to play.
West Chester controlled the second half, registering the first
five shots of the stanza before settling for a 5-4 advantage for the
half, but put none on net. Senior Kalyn Miller (Harleysville,
Pa./Souderton) settled the ball in a scramble at the top of the
six in the 56th minute, but her shot missed just high of the
goal. Freshman Alex Vido (Coronado, Calif./Coronado) had a
shot from distance in the right channel carom high off the left post in
the 67th minute.
“It was a lot closer than I thought it would be after the first
ten or twenty minutes,” said Franklin Pierce head coach Jeff
Bailey. “We said all week, we couldn’t give up free kicks
and sure enough (Yetter) knocked one in off the post to put them back in
it. I thought we played a little too deep in the second half and put a
lot more pressure on us than we needed to.”
Franklin Pierce sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Mello
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) made two first half saves to
preserve the victory. She made a tremendous stop with her right hand on
a one-on-one break with Yetter in the 25th minute.
Rinker made three saves in the first half for West Chester,
before giving way to freshman Hilary Smart (Enola, Pa./Cumberland
Valley), who made a save in the second half.
“We know there will be four good teams in Texas,” said Bailey. “In years past, maybe we could afford not to play our best and still have a chance. That’s not the case anymore. The team that plays the best for two games will win it.”