Ravens to battle fourth-seeded Bentley Saturday at 11 a.m.

RINDGE, N.H. (October 29, 2002) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 4 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, posted a 3-0 victory over No. 8-seed Pace University in quarterfinal round action of the Northeast-10 Conference women's soccer tournament at Crystal Field this afternoon.

The Ravens (14-0-2) advance to Saturday's semifinal round, hosted by Bryant College in Smithfield, R.I., where they will face fourth-seeded Bentley College (9-4-3) at 11 a.m. Bentley advanced with a 2-1 victory over fifth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University in Waltham, Mass., this afternoon. The 2002 Northeast-10 Championship match will be played on Sunday in Smithfield, R.I., at 1 p.m.

Franklin Pierce scored on its first shot of the match as senior Nicole Cheadle (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) headed in a direct kick from the right flank by classmate Andrea Caesar (Visby, Sweden) 12:44 into the match. The goal came as a result of the Ravens first sustained pressure in the Pace end as the Setters controlled the opening ten-minutes of possession.

The Ravens added a pair of insurance goals within an eight-minute span in the second half to put the match away. Sophomore Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) broke in one-on-one with Setters freshman goalkeeper Ria Carroll after a lob pass from junior Alana Sullivan (Dorchester, Mass./Mitchell College) in the 57th minute.

The goal gave Welcome a Northeast-10 leading 42 points for the season to surpass Beth Ondrick's single-season points record at the College by a US-born player. Ondrick totaled 41 points during the 1990 season. The assist for Sullivan was her first career point.

Senior Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland) rounded out the scoring in the 65th minute when she took a one-touch pass from classmate Kamille Rosenfalk (Borup, Denmark) for a wide-open shot.

Franklin Pierce junior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) registered five saves in 82-minutes of action to claim her eighth shutout of the season. The shutout extends the Ravens string of scoreless minutes in NE-10 Tournament play to 363:13 dating back to its 3-2 win over Southern Connecticut State in the 2000 Conference Championship match.

Carroll recorded three stops for the Setters (10-8-1) who now await a possible ECAC Tournament berth for the second-straight season.

#1 Franklin Pierce 3, #8 Pace 0 

Scoring Summary: FP: Nicole Cheadle (Andrea Caesar), 12:44; FP: Meghan Welcome (Alana Sullivan), 56:13; FP: Anumari Ylesmaki (Kamille Rosenfalck), 64:01.
Goalkeepers: PACE: Ria Carroll (90:00), three saves; FP: Aase Kibsgaard (90:00), five saves.
Shots: PACE: 8, FP: 12.