2008 Northeast-10 Women's Soccer Championship

Sunday, November 2

Quarterfinals
Match 1: #1 Franklin Pierce 5, #8 Saint Anselm 0
Match 2: #2 Saint Rose 1, #7 New Haven 0
Match 3: #6 UMass Lowell 1, #3 Merrimack 0 (OT)
Match 4: #4 Southern Connecticut 2, #5 Southern New Hampshire 0

Thursday, November 6

Semifinals
Match 5: #1 Franklin Pierce 2, #4 Southern Connecticut 1
Match 6: #2 Saint Rose 2, #6 UMass Lowell 0

Sunday, November 9

Championship
Match 7: #2 Saint Rose 1, #1 Franklin Pierce 1 (2OT)
Saint Rose Wins 2008 Championship 5-3 in PKs.

 
Saint Rose Wins Second Straight Northeast-10
Women's Soccer Championship

South Easton, Mass. – The College of Saint Rose claimed their second-straight Northeast-10 Women’s Soccer Championship after converting all five of their kicks in the penalty kick shootout Sunday afternoon at Sodexo Field on the campus of Franklin Pierce University. Saint Rose receives an automatic bid to next weekend’s NCAA Division II Tournament, while Franklin Pierce should be a lock to receive an at-large bid.

Franklin Pierce (15-4-1) and Saint Rose (16-3-1) were tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation and two-ten minute overtime periods as they entered the penalty kick shootout. The Golden Knights’ Amanda Deck (Cicero, N.Y.) scored the game-clinching kick as Saint Rose converted all five of their kicks for the 5-3 penalty kicks victory.

After both teams battled to a scoreless first half Saint Rose’s Kailey Egbert (Camp Hill, Pa.) put the Golden Knights on the scoreboard with her sixth goal of the season coming in the 47th minute. Egbert scored off a corner pass from Christina Cuffari (Brick, N.J.).

Franklin Pierce nearly tied the game at the 78th minute as Amanda Panaro (Rockland, Mass.) was able to get a shot off after beating her defender, however her shot sailed just left of the goal.

Minutes later at the 84th minute, the Ravens finally got on the board when Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden) scored her conference leading 29th goal eight yards out off a pass from Gabriela Demoner (Curitiba, Brazil) to tie the game at 1-1.

Franklin Pierce’s Rachel Smith (Chichester, N.H.) and Demoner were named to the All-Championship team along with Saint Rose’s Egbert, Katie Whiting (Holden, Mass.) and the championship’s Most Outstanding Player, Shannon Murphy (Charlton, Mass.).

Murphy finished with six saves in net for the Golden Knights, while Franklin Pierce’s Brittany Ester (Toms River, N.J.) recorded two saves in goal for the Ravens.

Jamie Gillis (UMass Lowell), Caitlin Hall (Merrimack), Selina Moyan (New Haven), Jen Pearl (Saint Anselm), Ashley Knight (Southern Connecticut) and Kristina Cardoso (Southern New Hampshire) round out the All-Championship team.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.


2008 Northeast-10 Women's Soccer All Championship Team

Gabriela Demoner and Rachel Smith, Franklin Pierce
Jamie Gillis, UMass Lowell
Caitlin Hall, Merrimack
Selina Moyan, New Haven
Jen Pearl, Saint Anselm
Kailey Egbert, Shannon Murphy and Katie Whiting, Saint Rose
Ashley Knight, Southern Connecticut
Kristina Cardoso, Southern New Hampshire
Most Outstanding Player - Shannon Murphy, Saint Rose

Top Seeds Advance to NE-10 Championship Final;
Franklin Pierce to Host Saint Rose

The top two seeds in the Northeast-10 Women's Soccer Championship are set to face off in the championship game 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 9 at Franklin Pierce University. The Ravens advanced to the finals with a come from behind victory over Southern Connecticut, while Saint Rose shutout UMass Lowell, 2-0, Thursday afternoon.

Last year Saint Rose won their first-ever Northeast-10 Championship with a 2-1 victory over Bryant University. Prior to that, Franklin Pierce had won seven straight championships dating from 2000-2006.


#1 Franklin Pierce 2, #4 Southern Connecticut 0

Southern Connecticut took an early lead against top-seeded Franklin Pierce. At the 19th minute, the Owl's Gina Della Rose scored her fifth goal of the year off a pass from Katrina Cook to put Southern Connecticut up 1-0 in the first half. The Owls led the rest of the way through the half and held the one goal lead heading into halftime. During the second half the Ravens came close a couple of times to equalize the score, however Southern Connecticut's goalkeeper Katie DiDio made a number of saves to maintain the lead. DiDio had eight saves throughout the game. It wasn't until the 86th minute that Franklin Pierce tied the game at 1-1 with a goal from Rachel Smith, her third of the season. With the score tied 1-1 and the clock ticking down to the end of regulation, Franklin Pierce's Gabriela Demoner controlled a loose ball near midfield and lobbed it toward the goal. The shot miraculously found the back of the net with one second left on the clock to give the Ravens a 2-1 victory.

#2 Saint Rose 2, #6 UMass Lowell 0

Saint Rose was first to strike midway through the first half as Jordan Bowers scored her third goal of the year off a pass from Nicola D'Errico. The Golden Knights led entering halftime with a 1-0 lead as the Saint Rose defense held UMass Lowell to just one shot the entire half. With the score still 1-0, the Golden Knights increased their lead when Lissie Stagda scored her second goal of the year at the 60th minute. Kailey Egbert assisted on the goal. Saint Rose held the River Hawks scoreless the rest of the way as goalkeeper Shannon Murphy made four saves in net to record her sixth shutout of the season. UMass Lowell's Jamie Gillis made two stops in goal.

Women's Soccer Championship Semifinalists
All Advance With Shutouts

The four semifinalists in the 2008 Northeast-10 Women's Soccer Championship all advanced with shutout victories in the quarterfinals. Top seed Franklin Pierce will host #4 Southern Connecticut at 4 p.m., while #2 Saint Rose will host #6 UMass Lowell at 1 p.m. on Thursday.

#1 Franklin Pierce 5, #8 Saint Anselm


Franklin Pierce's Angelika Johansson broke a 0-0 tie with under left in the first half to give the Ravens a 1-0 lead entering half time. Johansson would score the next two goals of the game for a 3-0 Franklin Piere advantage in the second half. Amanda Panaro tacked on another goal for a 4-0 lead and finally Johansson capped the scoring with her fourth goal of the match at the 83rd minute, her 28th of the season. The Ravens outshot the Hawks 20-6 while holding a 13-2 advantage on corner kicks.

#4 Southern Connecticut 2, #5 Southern New Hampshire 0


After a scoreless first half Southern Connecticut scored the games first goal at the 57th minute. Nicole Burton scored off a penalty kick to give the Owls the 1-0 lead. Mara Primmer scored an insurance goal at the 81st minute off a rebound off the post. The Owls would hold on to the 2-0 victory with a five save performance in goal by Katie DiDio. Stef Young made seven saves in net for the Penmen.

#2 Saint Rose 1, #7 New Haven 0

Saint Rose opened the scoring midway through the first half with a goal from Christina Cuffari to earn a 1-0 lead. The Golden Knights limited New Haven to only five shots, all coming in the second half. Shannon Murphy recorded her fifth shutout of the season in net after pushing away one shot. Saint Rose outshot the Chargers 10-5 and held a 4-0 advantage on corner kicks. New Haven's Kim Taylor made three saves in goal.

#6 UMass Lowell 1, #3 Merrimack 0

After two halves of scoreless soccer and nearly an overtime period UMass Lowell scored first for the sudden victory over Merrimack. Grace Larsen score the game-winning goal, her third of the year, with under a minute remaining in the first overtime period. UMass Lowell's Jamie Gillis turned away nine shots recording her seventh shutout of the season. Merrimack's Shannon Rowan made four saves in net. The Warriors outshot the River Hawks 13-10 and held the advantage in corner kicks, 4-0.