ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose, ranked #25 in the most recent
NSCAA/Adidas NCAA Division II National Poll, advanced to its seventh consecutive Northeast-10 Conference semifinal with a 1-0 first-round victory against visiting New Haven this afternoon.
The Golden Knights will now host sixth-seeded UMass Lowell in a semifinal encounter Thursday at the Albany Academy East Campus. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm. The River Hawks (8-4-5) advanced by upsetting third-seeded Merrimack 1-0 in overtime today.
Freshman midfielder
Christina Cuffari provided the difference for Saint Rose. Cuffari scored the game's lone goal when she drove home a loose ball from the middle of the penalty area in the 33rd minute. Junior keeper
Shannon Murphy was called upon to make one save for the Golden Knights (15-3-1), while New Haven freshman Kim Taylor turned aside three shots on target.
Saint Rose outshot the Chargers (9-10-1) by a 10-5 margin and had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks for the game. However, the shot ledger stood at five apiece throughout the second period when the contest was fairly evenly played. The Golden Knights carried the majority of play in the first half and had two solid chances in the final 13 minutes before intermission.
Sophomore midfielder
Amanda Deck snapped a header just wide in the 32nd minute, moments before Cuffari's decisive strike. In the 40th minute, sophomore forward
Jaclyn Evans penetrated and turned her defender at the left corner flag, before delivering a low shot that forced Taylor to make a diving save.
Conversely, New Haven engineered two chances to tie it late in the second stanza. The first came in the 83rd minute when freshman forward Alexa DellaRocco booted a strike from 12-yards out on the right side of the box that deflected off the near post. Sophomore midfielder Claire Siekaniec then lined a free kick with 10 seconds remaining that Murphy hung onto with a crowd of players at her doorstep, thus allowing the Golden Knights to run their win streak to 10 matches.
In today's other two quarterfinal encounters; top-seeded Franklin Pierce (14-3-1) defeated eight-seeded Saint Anselm (7-10-2) 5-0 and fourth-seeded Southern Connecticut State (12-3-2) handed fifth-seeded Southern New Hampshire (8-5-4) a 2-0 setback.
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