2003 NCAA DIVISION II NEW ENGLAND REGION FINAL #7 Franklin Pierce Advances Past #22 Saint Rose, 4-1
Hislop's first-half hat trick leads Ravens to eighth-straight Regional title
RINDGE, N.H. (November 17, 2003) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 7 in the final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, claimed its eighth-straight NCAA Division II New England Region title with a 4-1 victory over third-seeded and No. 22-ranked College of Saint Rose in NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament action at the Franklin Pierce Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (20-2), which reaches the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in program history, advances to next weekend's NCAA Quarterfinal round and will host No. 4 Adelphi University (18-1-1) on either Saturday or Sunday, November 22-23, at a time to be announced. Adelphi reached the quarterfinal round with a 4-1 victory over West Chester University yesterday. This weekend's game will be a re-match of last season's quarterfinal in which Franklin Pierce posted a 2-1 victory on Long Island to advance to the Final Four a record 11th straight year.
Saint Rose rounds out its season with a 14-5-1 overall mark, having reached the regional final for the first time in program history in its second NCAA Tournament appearance.
"We played some great soccer today and created some great opportunities," said Saint Rose Head Coach Laurie Darling Gutheil. "We did a fantastic job overall. We cannot deny the talent that they have, but we came here and made a great run at it. This club left everything on the field."
Franklin Pierce was led by sophomores Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) and Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland), both also teammates for the Republic of Ireland National Team. Hughes had a role in all four Raven goals with a goal and three assists. Her three assists set up Hislop's fifth hat trick of the season.
The Ravens were without the services of junior All-American and two-time Northeast-10 Player of the Year Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) who was forced to sit out after being issued a red card in their 2-1 semifinal win over Southern New Hampshire.
"Meghan works really, really hard at all times and as captain is our leader on the field," said Hughes. "We knew we would need someone to step up and we were able to get through it. She'll be back next week."
Hughes and Hislop connected on three nearly identical plays midway through the opening half to take the wind out of Saint Rose, which carried the early momentum in the match and registered the first two shots of the match. Hughes served a ball from midfield over the top of the Golden Knights defense, which sent Hislop on a break down the right side for a touch-shot past the charging effort of sophomore goalkeeper Kat Marasia (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) at the 25:26 mark.
"(Hislop and Hughes) know exactly were each other are at all times," said Franklin Pierce Head Coach Jeff Bailey. "It's just a matter of when Sonya turns she is able to anticipate where Laura is and make a good pass."
The duo clicked again at 29:15 as this time Hughes released Hislop with a through ball down the left side one-on-one with the keeper for a shot into the lower right side of the goal.
Hislop rounded out her hat trick 5:39 after netting her first goal as Hughes found her with a pass through the last line of defense for a shot into the right corner of the net at 31:05.
"We've been playing together so long that I know where (Hislop) makes her runs and I know she's left-footed, so I just try to put the ball where she can do the rest," said Hughes.
Hislop later missed on a possible fourth goal after she was pulled down in the penalty area early in the second half, but Marasia made a stabbing save on Hislop's penalty kick attempt towards the left side of the goal.
Hughes put the Ravens up 4-0 at 54:47 when she curled a shot from the right side about 35-yards from goal that snuck just under the crossbar and over the hand of Marasia. The shot was the only one of the day by someone other than Hislop, who took 11 of the Ravens 12 shots on the afternoon - including their first eight of the match.
Saint Rose pulled one back at 61:28 when senior Kerri Stone (Palmer Lake, Colo./Lewis Palmer) placed a 35-yard free kick on the right side into the upper left-hand corner of the goal.
Marasia finished the match with six saves for Saint Rose as the Ravens placed 11 of their 12 total shots on net. Freshman back Kylee Litchfield (Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial) made one stop on the line in the first half after a Hislop shot still headed towards goal after Marasia got an initial hand on it.
Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) made one stop. The Ravens held a 12-7 shots advantage for the match.
The win kept the Ravens home unbeaten streak against New England Region opponents intact at 98-matches (96-0-2) and they have still never lost a home playoff match in 20 tries, including a 16-0 clip in NCAA Tournament play.