Third-seeded Golden Knights advance to face second-seeded Ravens after Friday win

RINDGE, N.H. (November 15, 2008) - Northeast-10 Conference co-champions Franklin Pierce University, ranked 10^th in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, and No. 21-ranked The College of Saint Rose will square off for the third time this season in second round action of the 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships at Sodexo Field on Sunday at noon.

Franklin Pierce (15-3-2, 11-2-1 NE-10), making its 17^th NCAA Tournament appearance, received a bye through the first round of the tournament. Saint Rose (17-2-3, 11-2-1 NE-10) advanced with a 2-0 victory over sixth-seeded Georgian Court University in opening round action at Sodexo Field this afternoon.

Admission for Sunday's match will be $7.00 for adults, $4.00 for students and senior citizens and $2.00 for children ages 2-12. The match will be broadcast live on WFPC-LP 105.3 FM and also streamed over the internet at athletics.franklinpierce.edu.

The winner advances to the East Regional final to face the winner of Sunday's other East Region semifinal between top-seeded and host LIU-C.W. Post (17-2-1, 8-1-0 ECC) and fourth-seeded University of Bridgeport (17-4-1, 8-2-0 ECC) that kicks off in Brookville, N.Y., at 1 p.m. That match will be played at the highest remaining seed and host of the Atlantic Regional next weekend.

Saint Rose got goals from junior Lizzie Shegda (Yardley, Pa./Conwell-Egan Catholic) and sophomore Jordan Bowers (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty) in today's win over Georgian Court, while junior goalkeeper Shannon Murphy (Charlton, Mass./St. Peter Marian) made two saves to preserve the shutout.

Franklin Pierce is making its NCAA Division II record 17^th-straight appearance in the NCAA women's tournament. The Ravens, co-regular season champions of the NE-10 along with Saint Rose, have won an NCAA II record five National Championships (1994-97, '99) and reached the national final on two other occasions, including last season when the Ravens fell in a penalty kick shootout to the University of Tampa after the two sides played to a 0-0 double-overtime draw. Since NCAA Tournament regional play began in 1996, Franklin Pierce has won all 12 regional titles. The Ravens have appeared in the Final Four 14 times in their 16 previous NCAA Tournament appearances.

Franklin Pierce enters the NCAA Tournament unbeaten over its last nine (8-0-1) following last Sunday's 1-1 double-overtime draw with Saint Rose in the NE-10 tournament championship. The Ravens have played well defensively of late, yielding just three goals over their last seven matches and only eight in their last 16 (0.50/match) after conceding nine goals in their opening four contests. Franklin Pierce leads the NE-10 in scoring with 2.70 goals per match (24^th nationally), while ranking third with a 0.82 team goals against average.

Sophomore All-American Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden), the Daktronics East Region and Northeast-10 Player of the Year, leads all of Division II in scoring with 63 points and goals with 29 to go with five assists and is one of just three Franklin Pierce players to start all 20 matches this season to date. The NE-10 leader with eight match-winning goals, Johansson will be making her NCAA Tournament debut after missing the Ravens entire postseason run in 2007 with an injury late in the year.

Junior All-American Gabriela Demoner (Curitiba, Brazil), the 2007 Daktronics Region and Northeast-10 Player of the Year, is second on the team with 25 points (6^th NE-10) and seven goals (7^th) to go with a Conference-high 11 assists (14^th nationally). She has also netted four match-winning goals. Senior Kristen Cilley (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) has chipped in two goals and six assists (5^th NE-10) for ten points. 

Senior goalkeeper Brittany Ester (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) has seen the majority of time in goal this season for Franklin Pierce and posted a 0.84 goals against average (3^rd NE-10) and .754 save percentage (10^th) with a Conference-best eight shutouts in 1,827:57 over 20 starts. Ester, who has conceded just two goals in 11 career postseason matches at Franklin Pierce (0.17 GAA), set an NCAA Division II Tournament record with her 0.00 GAA in six postseason matches last season. She carries an NCAA Tournament shutout streak of 560-minutes into Sunday's match.       

Saint Rose, making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance, enters Sunday's match unbeaten over its last 13 (12-0-1) after Friday's win over Georgian Court. The Golden Knights are ranked second in the NE-10 with a 0.67 team goals against average (NE-10 best 13 shutouts) and third in scoring with 2.14 goals per match.

Murphy has seen the majority of minutes in goal for Saint Rose and leads the NE-10 with a 0.52 goals against average to go with a .845 save percentage (2^nd) and seven shutouts (2^nd) in 1,550:00 in 21 matches.

Senior Kailey Egbert (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity) and freshman Christina Cuffari (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) share the team lead with six goals and four assists for 16 points for Saint Rose. Sophomore Jazmine Farrell (Raritan, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) has added six goals and three assists for 15 points, while Bowers has added six goals, a team-best five of which are match-winners (2^nd NE-10).

Sunday marks the 20^th meeting all-time between these two programs, the seventh in postseason play and fifth in the NCAA Tournament. Franklin Pierce holds a 14-1-4 advantage in the all-time series, including a 5-0-1 mark in the postseason - 4-0-0 in the NCAA Tournament. The Ravens are 8-0-3 all-time against Saint Rose at home, including a 3-0-3 clip on Sodexo Field.

These teams have met twice so far this season, with Franklin Pierce posting a 1-0 victory in the regular season meeting in Albany, N.Y., on September 17, on a Demoner goal late in regulation. The two teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime drawn at Sodexo Field last Sunday, with Saint Rose capturing its second-straight NE-10 tournament championship with a 5-3 decision in the penalty kick shootout.

Franklin Pierce eliminated Saint Rose from the NCAA Tournament in the regional final with a 2-0 victory in Albany. Demoner and Jenna Giardina each registered a goal and assist for the Ravens, while Ester made four saves to preserve the shutout.

2008 NCAA Division II
Women's Soccer East Regional
Friday, November 14
First Round

Sodexo Field (Rindge, N.H.)
#3 Saint Rose 2, #6 Georgian Court 0

LIU-C.W. Post (Brookville, N.Y.)
#4 Bridgeport 1, #5 Merrimack 0

Sunday, November 16
Regional Semifinals

Sodexo Field (Rindge, N.H.)
#3 Saint Rose (17-3-2, 11-2-1 NE-10) at #2 Franklin Pierce (15-3-2, 11-2-1 NE-10), Noon

LIU-C.W. Post (Brookville, N.Y.)
#4 Bridgeport (17-4-1, 7-2-0 ECC) at #1 LIU-C.W. Post (17-2-1, 8-1-0 ECC), 1 p.m.