Demoner, Panaro Named to NE-10 All-Championship Team

BOXSCORE

ALBANY, N.Y. (November 8, 2009) – The 19th-ranked Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team dropped a tough 2-1 decision to No. 2 Saint Rose on Sunday in the 2009 Northeast-10 Championship game at Siena Field. The second-seeded Ravens dipped to 16-4-1, while the top-seeded Golden Knights ran their perfect record to 21-0-0.

Both teams will now await word from the NCAA on who they will face in the Division II regional tournament next weekend. Dates, times and opponents are still to be determined. The NCAA will make its selections and pairings on Monday, and will announce them on a live selection show at 7 p.m. on NCAA.com(.) The show will be free for fans to watch.

Saint Rose jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute on a goal from Kimberly Morton. The Golden Knights were able to get the tally as they got the ball in deep with several stretch passes which spaced out Franklin Pierce’s backs. Morton was able to collect the ball inside the box and slip a shot past Jocelyn Leon (Lennox, Mass.) into the lower left corner.

Franklin Pierce didn’t fold and fought back and tried to push the play into the offensive zone. A few minutes after the goal, Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden) just missed tying the game as her shot from inside the box missed by inches from staying inside the left post.

Johansson had another great opportunity with 33 minutes remaining in the contest as she got a point-blank shot from the right side of the net. She ripped a great shot, but Saint Rose goalkeeper Shannon Murphy made a terrific save to preserve the lead.

The Golden Knights went on top, 2-0, with 10:10 remaining on a goal from Carly Pengelly. The Ravens tried to claw back into it and pulled to within a goal in the 89th minute when Johansson notched a tally off a header attempt in front of the goal. It was her 17th of the season and was assisted by Snezana Stojkovic (Vitojevci, Serbia) off a corner kick. The Franklin Pierce goal snapped Saint Rose’s string of nine-consecutive shutouts.

Saint Rose and Franklin Pierce each fired off six shots in the contest. Murphy made two saves to earn the win. Leon made one save while suffering just her second loss in 13 decisions this season (11-2-0).

Sunday’s contest was a rematch of last season’s NE-10 title game, which saw both teams compete to a 1-1 draw. Saint Rose ultimately claimed the conference title as it won via penalty kicks.

Franklin Pierce was making its second-consecutive appearance in the championship and for the ninth time in 10 seasons since joining the NE-10 in 2000. The Ravens were victorious in the title game seven-consecutive seasons from 2000-06. The loss was Franklin Pierce’s first setback in regulation in NE-10 conference tournament history.

Following the contest, both Gabriela Demoner (Vitoria, Brazil) and Amanda Panaro (Rockland, Mass.) were named to the Northeast-10 All-Championship Team.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women’s soccer, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)