Ravens road to 10th-straight semifinal and sixth National Title goes through Poconos

RINDGE, N.H. (November 12, 2001) - If the top-ranked Franklin Pierce (21-0) women's soccer team is to make its tenth-straight NCAA semifinal appearance, it will have to come up with a big road victory as the Ravens will travel to Lock Haven, Pa., to face No. 8 Lock Haven University (18-3) in an NCAA Division II women's soccer quarterfinal match on Saturday at noon.

The Ravens, ranked No. 1 in the nation, enter the quarterfinals unbeaten with a school-record 21 wins, including a 6-3 decision over Lock Haven in their season opener on September 2. Lock Haven is making its second NCAA quarterfinal appearance in school history, both of which have come against Franklin Pierce.

Franklin Pierce advanced to the quarterfinals with a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over No. 13 Merrimack

College on Saturday. Freshman midfielder Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) netted the gamewinning goal 6:21 into overtime with a 35-yard free-kick near the left sideline that found the upper-right corner of the net. Franklin Pierce had a 1-0 lead until the Warriors were able to knot the score with just 4:46 remaining in regulation. Welcome earned NE-10 Freshman of the Week honors this afternoon for her efforts in the win.

It marked just the second time the Ravens have been tied in a game after taking a lead - the first coming on October 8 when the College of Saint Rose knotted its match at 1-1 early in the first half before eventually falling 3-1.

Franklin Pierce has still yet to trail in a match this season, having outscored the opposition 99-17 overall, including 48-2 in the first half. One of the teams that scored on Franklin Pierce in the opening half this season was Lock Haven, who got on the board just before halftime after the Ravens had built a 6-0 lead.

Franklin Pierce is led on offense by junior Patricia Keeldar (Amsterdam, Holland/Ter Leede), the Northeast-10 Player of the Year, with a Conference-best 69 points and 30 goals to go along with nine assists. Junior Angela Verdoes (Katwijk Aan Zee, Holland/Ter Leede) and classmate April Mann (Brisbane, Australia/Saint Thomas More) are ranked right behind Keeldar among the NE-10 scoring leaders with 47 and 45 points, respectively. Verdoes has 16 goals to go along with 15 assists, while Mann has totaled 16 goals and 13 assists.

Grad student Kim Higgins (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding) has backboned the Ravens defense and has posted a Conference-low 0.44 goals against average and .828 save percentage with seven shutouts in 1,027 minutes of play.

Lock Haven also needed overtime to advance to this weekend's quarterfinal match. The Eagles got the gamewinning goal 8:14 into extra time to defeat Slippery Rock University on Saturday. LHU led 1-0 at the intermission and after Slippery Rock tied the match midway through the second half, the Eagles regained the lead with just 4:02 remaining in regulation only to have SRU convert a goal off a corner kick with 30-seconds left on the clock. Junior Katie Taylor netted the gamewinning goal and assisted on the other two LHU goals to lead the offense.

Taylor leads the Eagles with 39 points on 13 goals and 13 assists, while sophomore Naomi Clarke has added 32 points with 12 goals and eight assists. Freshman Brooke Rangi has chipped in 26 points (10 gls, 6 asts).

Freshman goalkeeper Brandie Kessler has seen the majority of minutes in net and sports a 1.24 goals against average in 1,159 minutes of action.

Saturday will mark the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs, the second this season and second in NCAA Tournament play. Franklin Pierce leads the all-time series, 4-0, including the 6-3 decision on September 2. Three Ravens making their debut in the match led the way as Welcome recorded a goal and two assists, junior Kamille Rosenfalck (Copenhagen, Denmark/Frederiksberg Boldklub) totaled a goal and an assist, while Mann dished two helpers. Franklin Pierce and Lock Haven met in the 1999 NCAA Quarterfinals and the Ravens posted a 3-1 win en route to their fifth National Championship.

The winner of Saturday's match will advance to the NCAA Division II Final Four and will face the winner of this weekend's match between South Region Champion Christian Brothers University, ranked No. 2 in the nation, and Southeast Region Champion University of North Florida, ranked 22nd.

2001 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship

New England Regional
Wednesday, November 7:
#2 Merrimack 3, #3 Bryant 2 - 2OT

Saturday, November 10:
#1 Franklin Pierce 2, #2 Merrimack 1 - OT

NCAA Quarterfinal
Saturday, November 17:
#1 Franklin Pierce at #8 Lock Haven University, Noon

NCAA Semifinal:
Friday, November 30:
FPC/Lock Haven winner vs. Christian Brothers/North Florida winner

NCAA Division II Championship:
Sunday, December 2