Franklin Pierce Women's Soccer Team Advances in Tournament
Ravens Advance to NE-10 Semifinals with 4-0 Win over St. Michael's
RINDGE, N.H. (November 1, 2000) - Franklin Pierce scored three goals in the first half Wednesday en route to a 4-0 win over St. Michael's in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference tournament.
The second-seeded Ravens (14-2-2) move on to host third-seeded Merrimack College in a semifinal match Friday afternoon (2 p.m., Crystal Field). Merrimack (14-4) earned its way into the semifinals with a 3-1 win over Bryant on Wednesday.
Unlike the first time Franklin Pierce and St. Michael's met - when the Ravens needed a pair of second-half goals to take a 2-0 win in Rindge on October 12 - this game tilted in favor of the host team early.
Senior striker Minna Mustonen (Helsinki, Finland) scored her league-leading 19th goal of the year on a penalty kick in the third minute and the Ravens were on their way. Julia Uusmalmi (Tampere, Finland) made it 2-0 when she scored her 14th goal of the season off a cross from Mustonen in the 26th minute.
Tanja Pihlblad (Lonsboda, Sweden) made it 3-0 in the 35th minute, off another assist from Mustonen. The senior co-captain upped the lead to 4-0 in the 63rd minute on a long pass from Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland), and now has six goals in three games, 11 for the season.
"I think Minna is playing great right now,'' Franklin Pierce Coach Jeff Bailey said. "Julia is always a threat and Tanja seems to be coming into her own.''
Franklin Pierce had the advantage in shots (32-2) and corner kicks (13-1). The Ravens have now won three straight games by a combined scored of 21-1.
"I think we're playing pretty well,'' Bailey said. "I think we could have made things a little easier on ourselves today, but that's three good games in a row. Hopefully that's the start of something.''
Kim Higgins (Rochester, N.H.) made one save to record her fifth shutout of the year, while Tara McCuin (Highgate Center, Vt.) sparkled in net for St. Michael's as she made 11 saves.
Franklin Pierce now turns its attention to a second meeting with Merrimack. The Ravens beat the Warriors, 4-1, in Rindge on October 19.
Seventh-seeded St. Michael's, which is in contention for a bid to the ECAC Division II tournament, is now 10-8-1.
|
Teams (Record) |
1 |
2 |
OT |
OT |
Final |
|
#7 Saint Michael's (10-8-1, 7-7-1) |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
0 |
|
#2 Franklin Pierce (14-2-2, 12-1-2) |
3 |
1 |
- |
- |
4 |
|
Team |
Period |
Scorer |
Assists |
Time |
|
FP |
1 |
Minna Mustonen |
PK |
2:14 |
|
FP |
1 |
Julia Uusmalmi |
Minna Mustonen |
25:16 |
|
FP |
2 |
Tanja Pihlblad |
Minna Mustonen |
34:32 |
|
FP |
2 |
Tanja Pihlblad |
Anumari Ylesmaki |
62:01 |
|
Goalkeepers |
|
SMC: Tara McCuin, 11 saves, 90 minutes |
|
FP: Kim Higgins (8-1-1), one save, 90 minutes |
Corner Kicks: FP 13, SMC 0
Shots: FP 32, SMC 2