2003 NCAA DIVISION II NEW ENGLAND REGION SEMIFINAL #7 Franklin Pierce Survives Scare, Tops Southern N.H., 2-1
Ravens rally with two second-half goals to advance to ninth-straight regional final
RINDGE, N.H. (November 15, 2003) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 7 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, scored two second half goals to survive a scare and post a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University in NCAA Division II New England Region semifinal action at the Franklin Pierce Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (19-2) advances to the regional final for the ninth-straight year where it will face third-seeded and No. 22-ranked College of Saint Rose (14-4-2), who advanced past second-seeded and No. 11-ranked Merrimack College, 6-5, in a penalty shootout after the two sides played 110 scoreless minutes, on Monday at 1 p.m.
"Saint Rose is a good team," said Franklin Pierce Head Coach Jeff Bailey. "They've played Merrimack tight three times and finally got past them today. We have to be ready to play."
Southern New Hampshire, making its second NCAA Tournament appearance rounds out its season at 11-5-4.
"We proved we could play with Franklin Pierce today," said SNHU Head Coach Terry Prouty. "We've come a long way and I think we've regained the respect of the teams here and the rest of the Northeast-10 Conference this season."
Franklin Pierce, participating in its record 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament, got the winner in the 68th minute when sophomore forward Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) curled a free kick from 30 yards out off the far left post and into the upper left-hand corner of the goal for her Northeast-10 leading 27th goal of the season.
The Ravens knotted the match at the 54:17-mark when junior All-American Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) fired a cross from the right side back across the run of play that found sophomore Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) at the top of the box for a one-timed shot into the upper left corner of the net.
"I just swung my foot at it and it went in," said Hughes. "On another day it could have gone 50 miles over the bar."
The goals came as a result of increased Franklin Pierce offensive pressure in the second half after the opening 45-minutes saw the Ravens behind 1-0 and shots even at 3-3.
"We knew at halftime we could win," said Hughes. "We just needed to step it up and give ourselves a chance to correct ourselves."
"We had a hard time getting our forwards going in the first half," said Bailey. "That end of the field was frozen and made things difficult. (Southern New Hampshire) was able to sustain pressure and after we went down 1-0, I just hoped we wouldn't let in another before we could get our forwards going on the other side of the field."
Southern New Hampshire's defense also played a factor in stifling the Ravens in the first half. The Penwomen saw the fruits of their hard work pay off with the opening goal. Senior Erica Flynn (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) collected a loose ball on the right wing and headed towards the middle of the field, then fired a low shot from the upper left corner of the penalty area into the lower right corner of the net.
SNHU senior goalkeeper Anastasia Carson (Wylie, Texas/Manchester (N.H.) Memorial) made seven saves in goal, six over the final 45-minutes.
Franklin Pierce senior Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) made no stops as the Ravens finished with a 17-5 shots advantage for the match, including 14-2 in the second half.