Ravens and Panthers to battle for Final Four bid for second-straight season

RINDGE, N.H. (November 21, 2003) - For the second-straight season, Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 7 in the final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, will face No. 4-ranked Adelphi University in NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Quarterfinal round action for the right to advance to the Final Four. The match will be played Sunday at the Franklin Pierce Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex at 1 p.m.

Admission to the game will be $6 for adults, $4 for students and senior citizens and $1 for children 12 and under.

Franklin Pierce (20-2) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory over third-seeded and No. 22-ranked College of Saint Rose in Monday's New England Regional final. Sophomore Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) played a role in all four Raven goals with a goal and three assists. Her three helpers set up a first-half hat trick by classmate and fellow Republic of Ireland teammate Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) as Franklin Pierce staked out a 3-0 lead by the intermission and never looked back.            

Adelphi (18-1-1) advanced to the round of eight with a 4-1 victory over third-seeded and No. 24-ranked West Chester University on Sunday. Senior Marissa Cotilletta (New Hyde Park, N.Y./C.W. Post) broke a 1-1 tie in the 21^st minute and the Panthers added two more goals in the second half from classmate Monica Miller (Albuquerque, N.M./U. of New Mexico) and junior Josephine Coiro (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon).

Sunday's meeting will be the third all-time between these two programs with all three encounters coming in NCAA Quarterfinal matches. In addition to last year's 2-1 Franklin Pierce victory in the quarterfinal round, the Ravens posted a 2-1 victory 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.

Last year, Angela Verdoes lofted a shot from the right flank 22-yards out that found the upper left hand corner of the net for what proved to be the winning score in the 68^th minute. Franklin Pierce had jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland) just 4:52 into the match, but Adelphi equalized in the 30^th minute when Dina Cali (Valley Stream, N.Y./VS North) knocked in a corner kick from Coiro.

Saturday will mark the first time Adelphi has made the trek north to Rindge, as both previous meetings were at Stiles Field in Garden City, N.Y. Franklin Pierce has never lost a postseason match at home, posting a 21-0 overall mark at home in postseason play - 16-0 in NCAA Tournament action. All but two of those NCAA matches were played at Crystal Field, which has been deemed unplayable because of wet field conditions. The Ravens are 4-0 at the Franklin Pierce Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex having hosted a pair of Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament games.            

Franklin Pierce, in search of its record 12^th consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four and possible record sixth National Championship, is led by the offensive duo of Hislop and junior All-American and two-time Northeast-10 Player of the Year Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill). The pair has totaled a combined 143 points, 56 of the team's 82 goals and 16 of its 20 match-winning tallies.

Hislop leads the nation with 82 points and 22 assists, while her Conference-best 30 goals rank second in all of Division II. Her season totals have begun to creep up into some lofty ranks in program and NCAA history. Her 82 points are already good for 13^th in on the program's career scoring list, while her 30 goals also rank 13^th all-time. Hislop's 22 assists are just two shy of Verdoes' single-season record of 24 set in 1999 and is tied for the sixth-highest season total in Division II history. Her 82 points are the seventh-highest single-season total in Division II lore, while her 30 goals ranks 20^th. Seven of her goals this season are match-winners and she has totaled a team-best 24 points (11 gls, 2 asts) in five postseason matches.            

Welcome, the highest scoring US-born player in program history, ranks second to Hislop among Conference leaders with 61 points (7^th DII) and 26 goals (6^th), while her nine assists rank third on the team. She has also netted a team-best nine match-winning goals this season and has totaled 20 winners over her career. Welcome has surpassed her own single-season scoring marks by a US-born player after she totaled 20 goals and 46 points in 2002. Her 126 career points are also a record for a US-born player at the College and ranks seventh on the College's career scoring list. Her 53 career goals, a record for Americans at the College, ranks sixth all-time.

Hughes has been a key player in midfield for the Ravens in her first season since transferring, with Hislop, from Virginia Intermont College. Hughes ranks second to Hislop among Conference leaders with 18 assists (8^th DII). She has also netted six goals for a total of 30 points, which ranks third on the team. Freshman Alex Scavo (Markham, Ontario/Brother Andre) has chipped in with 18 points on seven goals and four assists.

Senior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) leads the NE-10 with a 0.76 goals against average (20^th DII) to go with a .794 save percentage and seven shutouts this season. A two-time All-Conference selection since transferring from Champlain College prior to the 2002 season, Kibsgaard ranks fourth in program history with a 0.68 goals against average, while her 15 career shutouts rank fifth all-time.     

In front of Kibsgaard is a defensive backfield that has yielded just 0.77 goals against this season (20^th DII). The backs are led by Makila and senior Alison Considine (Needham, Mass./Needham), both All-Conference picks this season, and freshmen Mia Makarainen (Espoo, Finland) and Kristen Lake (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield).

Adelphi, in search of its fifth Final Four berth but first since 1992, is participating in its eighth NCAA Tournament and enters Sunday's match winners of a program-record 18 consecutive matches and looking for a program-record 19^th overall victory this season. The Panthers had a string of 13-straight shutouts snapped in the Northeast Region final against West Chester and have outscored their opposition by a 30-1 margin on the road this fall. 

Adelphi is led by Coiro's 43 points (20^th DII) and 19 goals (15^th), while she has also dished five assists. Senior midfielder Luciana Pace (Bellmore, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) has added 30 points on 12 goals and six assists, while Cotilletta has chipped in 10 goals and three assists for 23 points. Senior Lena Dunning (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado) has dished a team-best nine assists.

Panthers senior goalkeeper Andrea Fasano (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) backbones the nation's top defense with a Division II-leading 0.26 goals against average to go with a .932 save percentage and 14 shutouts this season.

The winner of this weekend's match will advance to the 2003 NCAA Division II Final Four in Virginia Beach, Va., the weekend of December 4-6. They will play the winner of another Sunday quarterfinal match between No. 1 Metro State University (21-0-1) and No.  3 UC San Diego (17-2), being played in La Jolla, Calif., (4 p.m., EST), in the national semifinals on December 4.