Short-handed Ravens Beat Southern Connecticut, 3-2

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (November 5, 2000) - Franklin Pierce captured its first Northeast-10 Conference championship Sunday when the Ravens beat previously undefeated Southern Connecticut State University, 3-2, at Jess Dow Field.

The two teams are expected to meet again next weekend in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament. Invitations to the national tournament will be handed out Monday as the Ravens begin defense of their national title and go for a Division II-record sixth championship.

The Owls (19-1), seeded first in the NE-10 tournament, beat the second-seeded Ravens (16-2-2), 1-0, at Jess Dow Field on October 21 when Jenny Wilkin (Hexham, England) scored with 20 seconds left in the match. That defeat ultimately meant the Ravens had to go on the road for the conference championship game after victories at home during the first two rounds of the tournament.

Franklin Pierce also had to go into the title tilt without two of its starting defenders, as sophomores Nicole Cheadle (West Chester, Pa.) and Anumari Ylesmaki (Helsinki, Finland) were both sidelined with ankle injuries suffered in Friday's 2-1 semifinal win over Merrimack.

Southern Connecticut went into the match having allowed just five goals this year and posting shutouts in its previous seven matches.

That streak ended 22 minutes into the match when Jenny Petronis (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) out-jumped a Southern defender for a ball in the 18-yard-box and senior co-captain Tanja Pihlblad (Lonsboda, Sweden) was there to knock in the loose ball.

The goal was the 10th in the past five games for the red-hot Pihlblad. The Ravens held the 1-0 lead through halftime and built on it by scoring two goals in a five-minute span 10 minutes into the second half.

Leading scorer Minna Mustonen (Helsinki, Finland) outraced the Owls' defense to a long through ball from Sinikka Salomaa (Tampere, Finland) and flicked a quick shot past the charge of Southern Connecticut goalkeeper Shannon Mason (Maplewood, N.J.) for her 19th goal of the year to put the Ravens up 2-0 in the 51st minute.

The Ravens made it 3-0 in the 56th minute when freshman Jenny Gould (Londonderry, N.H.) scored on a free kick to the upper right corner from 30 yards out.

Southern Connecticut mounted a comeback over the final 20 minutes. The Owls made it 3-1 in the 76th minute when Theresa Uliano (Newington, Conn.) notched her 19th goal off a breakaway, and got to within 3-2 in the 87th minute when Jodi Quaranta (Monroe, Conn.) scored when Franklin Pierce failed to clear a loose ball in the box.

Senior co-captain Amy Hingston (Brookline, Mass.) was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament as she helped settle down the injury-plagued defense. She was a standout in midfield in Friday's semifinal and shifted to stopper back on Sunday.

The Ravens, who have gone to the national tournament every year since 1992, are now 21-1 in the postseason since 1994. This is their first season in the NE-10; they had won the championship of the New England Collegiate Conference in each of the six years the conference sponsored women's soccer.

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2:00 SCSU corner kick
2:40: FP
foul
3:00 Stratakis, SCSU header save Higgins
3:42 SCSU foul
7:00 SCSU foul in FP
box
7:30 Wilkin, SCSU head from 25 save Higgins
12:11 clock stopped for eye injury on Higgins
14:50 FP
foul
16:50 FP
corner kick
17:51 FP
corner kick
19:10 SCSU corner kick out of bounds
20:16 SCSU foul
20:18 Caesar, FP
shot of direct kick, save Mason
21:06 FP
GOAL!!! Tanja Pihlblad off header from Jenny Petronis
22:15 SCSU foul
24:40 FP
corner kick
25:10 FP
foul on header on box
27:30 SCSU foul
28:00 FP
foul
30:00 FP
foul
35:10 Gould, FP
shot from 30 yards,save Mason
35:40 FP
foul
36:20 FP
foul
38:00 FP
foul
41:00 SCSU corner kick
41:06 Stratakis, SCSU shot off corner from 5 yards, save Higgins
43:30 Uusmalmi, FP
shot from 30 save Mason
44:10 FP
foul
-Halftime-
46:30 FP
foul
47:40 Haslin, SCSU shot from 9 yards wide right
49:00 SCSU corner kick
51:24 FP
Goal!! Minna Mustonen off long pass from Sinikka Salomaa
52:40 SCSU foul
52:51 Caesar, FP
shot from 45 yards out save Mason
55:00 SCSU foul
55:36 FP
Goal!!! Jenny Gould off fre kick from 30 yards out to upper 90
60:00 SCSU corner kick
60:20 SCSU corner kick kicked out of bounds
62:30 Uusmalmi, FP
shot save Mason
63:00 FP
corner kick
63:05 FP
corner kick
63:10 Gould, FP
shot cleared off goal line by SCSU defender
66:00 SCSU foul
71:00 SCSU corner kick kicked out of bounds
72:06 FP
foul
75:41 SCSU Goal. Theres Uliano from Wilkin on breakaway
76:50 FP
corner kick
78:05 Wilkin, SCSU shot wide left
80:36 FP
foul
83:00 Spencer, FP
shot from 30 yards high
83:41 Uusmalmi, FP
shot from 20 yards high
84:00 Salomaa, FP
shot from 20 yards high
84:36 FP
foul
86:38 SCSU corner kick
86:44 SCSU Goal!! Jodi Quaranta to lower 90 off corner kick and rebound
88:00 FP
foul
88:15 FP
Yellow Card, Sinikka Salomaa on tackle
89:30 FP
foul

Corner Kicks: FP 7, SCSU 7
Shots: FP 12, SCSU 6