PREVIEW: Women’s Soccer Returns to NCAAs to Take on LIU Post
NCAA Championship East Regional: Tournament Central
RINDGE, N.H. (November 9, 2017) – For the first time since 2010, the Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team will return to the NCAA Championship on Friday afternoon, as it makes the 20th NCAA appearance in program history. The Ravens, who are the fifth seed in the East Region, will take on fourth-seeded LIU Post, in their first-round contest. Opening kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Motamed Field in Garden City, N.Y., on the campus of top seed Adelphi.
The winner will advance to take on the host Panthers in the Second Round on Sunday.
NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship East Regional
(seeds in parentheses)
Friday, November 10 -- First Round
Game 1: (3) Southern New Hampshire vs. (6) Georgian Court -- 1 p.m. (at Mercy College -- Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.)
Game 2: (4) LIU Post vs. (5) Franklin Pierce -- 2 p.m. (at Adelphi University -- Garden City, N.Y.)
Sunday, November 12 -- Second Round
Game 1 Winner at (2) Mercy -- Noon
Game 2 Winner at (1) Adelphi -- 2 p.m.
Scouting the Ravens
Franklin Pierce (12-4-2) returns to the NCAA Championship for the first time in seven years after a resurgent season which saw the team finish as the Northeast-10 Conference runner-up. The Ravens advanced to the NE10 title game for the 11th time in school history, and also the first time since 2010. Franklin Pierce got a 33rd-minute goal from sophomore forward Sophie Cousineau (Milton, Mass.), but could not recover from surrendering two goals in the opening 22 minutes. Ultimately, Southern New Hampshire finished off a 2-1 victory to lay claim to its second NE10 title (game story).
The Ravens have excelled at goal prevention on the year, with a defense which ranks third in the NE10 (out of 15 teams) and 48th in the nation (out of 275) in goals-against average (0.81), as they have surrendered just 15 goals in 18 games. The back line has helped usher the crimson and grey to eight shutouts, including six 1-0 victories, on the season. Franklin Pierce also sits in the top third in the league in offense, averaging 1.56 goals per game. It is junior midfielder Nathalia Maria da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) who leads the charge, with seven goals on the year, while sophomore midfielder Veronica Marques (Sao Paulo, Brazil) has contributed 14 points as well, courtesy of six goals and two assists.
Senior goalkeeper Casey Cook (Beverly, Mass.) has played every minute of the season in net for the Ravens. She ranks third in the NE10 and 51st in the nation in goals-against average (0.81), and has posted a .779 save percentage on the campaign.
Scouting the Pioneers
On the other side of the field, LIU Post (15-3-1) was the runner-up in its conference tournament as well, as the Pioneers were downed by Mercy, 3-0, in the final round of the East Coast Conference Championship on Saturday (game story). LIU Post was held to four shots on goal on the day and was never able to bounce back from conceding three first-half goals to the Mavericks.
LIU Post is making its fourth straight NCAA Championship appearance, as well as the 11th appearance all-time in program history.
Prior to a 1-0 loss at Bridgeport in their regular-season finale (game story) -- which they avenged in the ECC semifinal (game story) -- the Pioneers had run off an 11-game unbeaten streak (10-0-1) from Sept. 18 through Oct. 25, and at one point owned a 14-1-1 record. LIU Post, which will be playing just 20 minutes from its home campus on Friday, was buoyed by a 9-1-1 record on its home field.
LIU Post ranks in the top-30 in the nation in both scoring offense and defense. The Pioneers have pumped home 2.58 goals per game, which ranks 16th in the country, while allowing just 0.62 goals against per game, which is good for 28th in the nation. LIU Post leads the ECC in both categories.
Offensively, sophomore forward Julia Duffy leads the way for the Pioneers, with 22 points on 10 goals and two assists. Sophomore midfielder Gabrielle Clark (9-1-19), junior forward Andrea Huntzinger (8-3-19) and sophomore back Alice Schonfeldt (8-2-18) have all topped 15 points as well for LIU Post.
Like Cook for the Ravens, junior goalkeeper Hillevi Eklow has logged every second in front of the LIU Post net so far this season. Her 0.62 goals-against average ranks second in the ECC, as does her .852 save percentage. The Väröbacka, Sweden product ranks 28th in the nation in goals-against average.
All-Time Series
The two teams have met only twice before, with Franklin Pierce taking both contests, and Friday’s matchup will mark the first game between the two in nearly 20 years.
The last time the two institutions met in women’s soccer was in 1998, when the Pioneers played under the moniker of C.W. Post (Long Island University rebranded the C.W. Post campus as LIU Post in 2012). The two sides clashed in the quarterfinal round of the 1998 NCAA Championship, on Nov. 21 in Rindge, with the Ravens coming away 5-0 winners to improve to 20-0-0. The 1998 Ravens were the four-time defending national champions and outscored their opponents 122-16 on the year, but fell to Lynn in the national semifinal two weeks later.
The only other meeting between the Ravens and Pioneers was even more lopsided, and came during the 1994 regular season, when C.W. Post paid a visit to Rindge and left with a 10-0 defeat. The Pioneers were not alone in the 1994 season, as Franklin Pierce piled up 10 or more goals on four occasions that fall, and scored at least five goals in 14 of their 19 games. The 1994 Ravens outscored opponents 114-3 on the year, on their way to a perfect, 19-0-0 season, and the first national title in school history.
Headed to the Game?
If you plan on making the trip to Garden City on Friday afternoon, directions to Adelphi’s campus, as well as campus maps, can be found here: http://visit.adelphi.edu/travel-info/
Ticket prices are set as follows:
Adults - $8
Children (2-12) and Senior Citizens - $5
Students (with valid ID) - $3
Children under 2: Free
Per NCAA policy, no complimentary admissions will be issued.
How to Follow Along
If you prefer to follow the action from home, from work or from elsewhere, both live video and live stats will be available:
Live stats // Video
Up Next
The winner of Friday afternoon’s game will advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Championship, which is set for Sunday, Nov. 12. The advancing team will face host and East Region top seed Adelphi at 2 p.m. at Motamed Field.
For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).