Tori Gikas gets scoring started with goal in final minute of first half

BOXSCORE

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (November 13, 2009) – The 20th-ranked Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Division II Tournament East Regional with a 2-0 win over Holy Family on Friday in Bridgeport, Conn. The Ravens – seeded third in the East region – improved to 17-4-1 on the year, while Holy Family – the region’s sixth seed – closed its season with a 13-9-1 mark.

With the win Franklin Pierce advanced to face second-seeded University of Bridgeport on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Connecticut. The Purple Knights (16-1-3) are serving as host of one of the two East sub-regionals in this year’s NCAA Tournament. At stake in Sunday’s contest will be a trip to the NCAA East Regional Championship game, which will be held next weekend.

Franklin Pierce got the scoring started in the final minute of the first half when senior midfielder Gabriela Demoner (Vitoria, Brazil) slipped a pass over to sophomore midfielder Tori Gikas (Sydney, Australia), who ripped a shot from the top-right corner of the box that jumped off the hands of the goalkeeper and into the lower-left corner of the net. It was Gikas’ fourth goal of the season and the eighth assist for Demoner, which added to her team and Northeast-10 leading point total of 68.

The second half featured heavy rain and wind which slowed the pace of play down. Holy Family tried to tie the game in the second half as it produced a couple of strong scoring chances, but Franklin Pierce’s defense and sophomore goalkeeper Jocelyn Leon (Lennox, Mass.) stood strong to preserve the shutout victory. Leon needed to make just one save in the contest to earn the win and run her impressive 2009 record to 12-2-0. The shutout victory was also the 12th for Franklin Pierce this season.

The Ravens did add a final goal in the closing minute, which came from junior midfielder and Northeast-10 First-Team honoree Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden). She logged the goal by blasting a shot from inside the box, which beat the goalkeeper to the middle portion of the net. It was the 18th goal of the season for Johansson and the second-consecutive game she registered a tally. Senior forward Shannon Mulvey (Worcester, Mass.) got credit for the assist on the play as she pushed a thru ball to the middle of the box for Johansson to send it home.

Franklin Pierce out-shot Holy Family, 22-2, and had a commanding 15-0 advantage in corner kicks.

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