Ravens will face No. 2 and fellow undefeated Christian Brothers on neutral ground in San Diego

RINDGE, N.H. (November 19, 2001) - Top-ranked and undefeated Franklin Pierce University
(22-0) will travel 2,990 miles across the country in quest of a record sixth NCAA Division II Women's Soccer National Championship as defending champion and No. 5-ranked University of California San Diego (19-2) has been named the host site for the 2001 semifinal and final.

The semifinal rounds will be played on Friday, November 30, at UC-San Diego's North Campus Recreation Field. The two games offer an interesting pair of match-ups as No. 1 Franklin Pierce and No. 2 Christian Brothers University (21-0), the lone undefeated teams remaining, square-off in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. (8 Eastern). The second semi between No. 4 Northern Kentucky University (22-1) and No. 5 UC-San Diego (7:30 PST) is a rematch of last year's national championship match which San Diego won, 2-1, netting the gamewinning goal with just 15-seconds left in regulation.

The Ravens posted a dramatic 1-0 overtime win at No. 8 Lock Haven University on Saturday to advance to its record tenth-straight final four. Christian Brothers will make its first final four appearance after dispatching No. 22 University of North Florida, 7-1, in yesterday's quarterfinal action.

Franklin Pierce has needed overtime to decide each of its NCAA Tournament contests, registering a 2-1 win over No 13 Merrimack College in the New England Regional Championship before Saturday's win in extra-time at Lock Haven. Junior forward April Mann (Brisbane, Australia/Saint Thomas More) netted the lone goal of the match in the 93rd minute to lead Franklin Pierce to its school-record 22nd win of the season on Saturday. The 22 wins surpass the previous record of 21 victories set in 1997 and matched in 1998.

Mann scored with a sliding shot off a cross from classmate Patricia Keeldar (Amsterdam, Holland/Ter Leede). Grad Student Kim Higgins (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding) made two saves to preserve her eighth shutout of the season (17th career).

Keeldar, the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year, leads the Conference with 70 points and 30 goals (seven gamewinners) to go along with ten assists. Mann and Angela Verdoes (Katwijk Aan Zee, Holland/Ter Leede) are tied for second in the Conference behind Keeldar with 47 points apiece. Mann has totaled 17 goals (four gamewinners) and 13 assists, while Verdoes has added a team-best 15 assists and 16 goals (four gamewinners).

Higgins leads the NE-10 with a 0.40 goals against average to go with a .839 save percentage and eight shutouts. She has yielded just one goal in her last 637 minutes in goal entering the semifinals - a 0.14 GAA. Christian Brothers has outscored its opponents by a total of 10-2 in two NCAA Tournament matches. The Buccaneers defeated No. 17 Barry University, 3-1, in the South Regional final, before blasting UNF on Sunday. The combined eight goals scored by the two teams in yesterday's 7-1 win matched the NCAA Division II record for goals by two teams in a Tournament match set in an 8-0 Franklin Pierce University
win in the 1995 quarterfinals against Mercyhurst College.

In fact the Buccaneers have shattered several Franklin Pierce scoring records this season. Junior Missy Gregg, a transfer from the University of Dayton, has totaled 154 points on 72 goals and ten assists, shattering Pauliina Miettinen's previous record of 105 points set in 1998. Gregg's 72 goals is also a new Division II record.

CBU's 162 goals this season broke Franklin Pierce's record of 129 markers set in 1995 and the Buccaneer's 7.71 goals per match is more than a goal per game better than the Ravens NCAA record 6.45 GPG in 1995.

Junior Margaret Saurin is second to Gregg with 75 points, aided by a new Division II record 29 assists and 23 goals. Verdoes, who dished 24 helpers in 1999, held the previous single-season assist record.

Junior Jennifer Simon has seen the majority of minutes in goals and sports a 1.08 GAA and .654 save percentage with ten shutouts in 1,499 minutes of play.

The winner of Franklin Pierce/CBU matchup will face the winner of Friday's other semifinal between host UC-San Diego and Northern Kentucky.

San Diego advanced to the Final Four with a 2-0 win over No. 9 University of the Incarnate Word (Texas), while NKU defeated No. 6 Truman State University (Mo.), 2-0, on the road on Saturday. San Diego, winners of two-straight NCAA Championships (Division III in 1999 - Division II in 2000), is led by senior Erika Alfredson with 37 points with 15 goals and seven assists. Sophomore Kristin Jones has chipped in 23 points (8 gls, 7 asts), while classmate Megan Mendoza has added 21 points (8 & 5). Sophomore Kami Poma has seen the majority of minutes in goal and has posted a 0.37 GAA and .920 save percentage with ten shutouts in 1,706 minutes.

Northern Kentucky returns to the Final Four for the third-straight year and boasts three 50-point scorers in its arsenal. Junior Bessie Black has totaled 55 points with 20 goals and 15 assists. Senior Betsy Moore had added 53 points (18 gls, 17 asts), while classmate Tricia Ruark has chipped in 51 points (15 & 21). Junior Megan Zalla has seen the bulk of action in goal and sports a 0.39 goals against average.

The Championship match is slated for Sunday, December 2, at 4 p.m., EST.

2001 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship

Semifinals:
Friday, November 30 (Hosted by UC-San Diego, San Diego, Calif.):
#2 Christian Brothers University (21-0) vs. #1 Franklin Pierce (22-0), 8 p.m., EST #4 Northern Kentucky University (22-1) at #5 UC-San Diego (19-2), 10:30 p.m., EST

Championship:
Sunday, December 2 (Hosted by UC-San Diego, San Diego, Calif.):
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m., EST