WORCESTER, Mass. (November 7, 2021) – There was nothing in it through 110 minutes on Sunday afternoon, as the fifth-seeded Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team locked horns on the road with fourth-seeded Assumption in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. After the game was played to a scoreless draw through two overtime periods, Assumption advanced to the semifinal round on penalty kicks, 3-2.

With the draw, Franklin Pierce now stands at 9-4-4 and will have to await word on a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Championship, though an 0-1-1 week is unlikely to do the team any favors in the East Region rankings. Assumption now stands at 7-4-7 and advances to host eighth-seeded Southern Connecticut State in a Thursday semifinal, after the Owls upset regular-season champion Southern New Hampshire on the road, 2-1.

The game was relatively even statistically. Assumption enjoyed a 13-8 advantage in shot attempts, but Franklin Pierce posted a 7-5 edge in shots on goal. Both keepers were able to chalk up clean sheets on the afternoon, as freshman Gabby Calidonio (Flagler Beach, Fla.) made five saves for Franklin Pierce and freshman Julia Walsh (7-4-7) stopped seven shots for Assumption. It was the fourth shutout of the season for Calidonio (7-3-4) and the seventh for Walsh.

With the scoreless draw on the books, a penalty shootout would decide which team would advance to meet SCSU in the semifinal round. It was the third round of the five-round shootout which would prove decisive. After both teams put away each of their first two kicks from the spot, sophomore Tess McKenzie (Warren, R.I.) hit the right post with Franklin Pierce's third attempt. Freshman Ashley Wenzel followed and buried her kick in the left side of the net, and then neither team could put home another shot.

Walsh made a save on freshman Hailey Goodman (Blackstone, Mass.), who went right with her shot, and then Calidonio kept the Ravens alive with a diving save on senior Diana Bruggeman's shot towards the left side of the net. Freshman Salome Kerguillec (Landerneau, France) came up in a most-convert situation for Franklin Pierce, but her shot to the right was saved and Walsh was mobbed by her teammates as the Greyhounds advanced.