4 Ravens must hit the road for second-straight year with Final Four trip on the line

RINDGE, N.H. (November 19, 2002) - The NCAA has ruled that this weekend's Division II Women's Soccer Quarterfinal between No. 4-ranked Franklin Pierce and No. 10 Adelphi University, originally scheduled to be played at Crystal Field on Sunday at 1 p.m., will be hosted by Adelphi in Garden City, N.Y., on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The decision was made this morning by members of the NCAA Soccer Committee after Franklin Pierce officials could not guarantee Crystal Field would be in playable condition for this weekend. Concerns over a four-inch layer of snow, which had begun to be removed as well as an unfavorable weather forcast over the next few days also factored in on the decision.

The Ravens were also placed on the road in last year's quarterfinal round, with a No. 1 national ranking, and traveled to Lock Haven, Pa., where they topped No. 8-ranked Lock Haven University, 1-0, in overtime.

Franklin Pierce (17-0-2) is one win away from advancing to the Division II Final Four for a record 11th-straight season and continuing its quest for a Division II record sixth National Championship. Adelphi (17-1-2) is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, but first since 1997.

Franklin Pierce claimed its seventh-straight New England Regional Championship on Saturday afternoon with a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 12-ranked Merrimack College. Sophomore Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) netted the match-winning goal for the second-straight season in overtime to eliminate the Warriors in the regional final. Welcome took a through ball from senior Angela Verdoes (Katwijk Aan Zee, Holland) and walked in on the Merrimack goalkeeper before sending a shot into the lower left corner of the net in the 99th minute.

Trailing 1-0 at the intermission, Verdoes set up the Ravens equalizer at the 58:05-mark as she sent a direct kick towards the middle of the 18-yard box that scooted through the Warriors defense and found a wide-open Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland) for her second goal of the season.

Adelphi advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over No. 22 Bloomsburg University in first round action last Wednesday at home, before upsetting top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Lock Haven University on Sunday afternoon. The two sides played through 110 scoreless minutes before the Panthers advanced 3-1 in a penalty kick shootout. Junior goalkeeper Andrea Fasano posted her ninth shutout of the season with a nine-save effort.

Sunday will mark the just the second meeting all-time between these two programs - both of which have come in NCAA Quarterfinal matches. Franklin Pierce topped Adelphi, 2-1, in four overtimes in an epic NCAA Quarterfinal match en route to a fourth-straight National Title in 1997. National Player of the Year, Pauliina Auveri's goal in the 148th minute sealed the win just a minute and a half before the match would have gone to decisive penalty kicks.

Crystal Field has not been a kind place for Franklin Pierce opponents in NCAA Tournament play. The Ravens improved to 13-0 all-time with Saturday's win over Merrimack and has outscored the opposition by a combined 60-6 margin in those contests.

Franklin Pierce is led by a stout defensive unit, which has yielded a Northeast-10 Conference-low eight goals in 19 matches this season (0.42 per match - 8th nationally). The Ravens opened the season with a school-record six shutouts.

Senior tri-captain Nicole Cheadle (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year anchors the defensive unit. A Verizon District I Academic All-American, Cheadle has also played an offensive role, netting four goals (two match-winners) and dishing one assist for nine points.

Cheadle is joined in the back by Makila, an All-Conference and Verizon Academic All-District selection, and juniors Alison Considine (Needham, Mass./Needham) and Alana Sullivan (Dorchester, Mass./Mitchell College).

Junior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) is the beneficiary of the tough defensive line as she leads the Conference and ranks eighth in Division II with a 0.45 goals against average and .840 save percentage with eight shutouts.

The Ravens are led on offense by Welcome, the Northeast-10 Player of the Year, who has totaled a Conference-best 46 points and 20 goals (team-best eight match-winners) to go along with six assists. Welcome has established a new single-season record at the College for points by a US-born player, surpassing the previous mark of 41 set by Beth Ondrick in 1990.

Senior tri-captain Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland), an All-Conference and Verizon Academic All-District selection, ranks second on the team (7th NE-10) with 27 points having scored ten goals (two match-winners) and tallied seven assists. Verdoes, named the NE-10 Player of the Week on Monday, has totaled 25 points with ten goals and five helpers. The three-time All-Conference selection ranks sixth in program history with 140 career points.

Senior Andrea Caesar (Visby, Sweden), a Verizon District I Academic All-American, leads the Conference with 12 assists to go along with six markers (two match-winners) for 24 points. ClassmateKamille Rosenfalck (Borup, Denmark) has teamed with Caesar to form a top playmaking duo. Rosenfalck has dished nine assists to go along with a goal for 11 points.

Adelphi rolls into Sunday's match winners of seven straight after a mid-season stretch of three games that accounted for all three of the Panthers blemishes this fall. After enduring a three-match scoreless streak that saw it post a 0-1-2 clip, Adelphi has out-scored the opposition 26-5 during its current seven-match upswing.

Defense has also been key for the Panthers as they are yielding just 0.45 goals per match this season. Fasano boasts a 0.43 GAA and .926 save percentage with nine shutouts this fall.

Leading the Adelphi offense, which is clicking at 2.95 goals per match, is sophomore forward Josephine Coiro. She has totaled 41 points on 18 goals (five match-winners) and five assists. Junior Luciana Pace has added 30 points (13 gls, 4 asts), while classmate Jennifer Garone has chipped in 16 points (6 & 4).

The winner of Sunday's quarterfinal match will advance to the 2002 NCAA Division II Final Four in Virginia Beach, Va., the weekend of December 6-8. It will face the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between No. 1-ranked Northern Kentucky University (20-0-2) and No. 3 University of Nebraska-Omaha (19-0) on Friday, December 6. The 2002 Division II National Champion will be crowned on Sunday, December 8.

2002 NCAA Division II Championships

QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, November 23 (all times local)
#3 Nebraska-Omaha (19-0) at #1 Northern Kentucky (20-0-2), 1 p.m.
#18 North Florida (15-2-3) at #2 Christian Brothers (19-1), 2 p.m.

Sunday, November 24
#4 Franklin Pierce (17-0-2) at #10 Adelphi (17-1-2), 1 p.m.
#16 UC Davis (12-6-3) at #9 Metro State (19-2-2), 1 p.m.

FINAL FOUR
Virginia Beach Sportsplex, Virginia Beach, Va.
Friday, December 6
Neb.-Omaha/Northern Kentucky winner vs. Adelphi/Franklin Pierce winner, Time TBA
North Florida/Christian Brothers winner vs. Metro State/UC Davis winner, Time TBA

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Sunday, December 8