ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose is one step away from the NCAA Division II national championship game with Grand Valley State, MI (20-0-4) next on the docket for the Golden Knights (24-0-0). The two teams will meet in a national semifinal encounter Thursday, December 3 at Pepin Stadium on the University of Tampa campus.
Saint Rose, ranked #2 in the final regular-season
NSCAA/Adidas Division II Poll, got to this point with a 1-0 victory against California (PA) in a national quarterfinal contest on November 22. Freshman forward
Carly Pengelly provided the difference with her fourth marker of the year in the 38th minute. The Golden Knights previously upended league rival Franklin Pierce 1-0 in the East Regional Championship game as junior midfielder
Amanda Deck scored her team-leading ninth goal with less than eight minutes remaining. They also took a 2-1 triumph over visiting Merrimack in a second round affair to commence its 2009 NCAA Tournament march.
Saint Rose possesses a balanced attack coupled with a superlative defensive corps. Eighteen different players have figured in the scoring column, including 14 who have recorded at least one goal. Deck has produced a team-leading 25 points with nine goals and seven assists. Sophomore forwards Gianna D'Errico and Nicola D'Errico, and sophomore midfielder
Kimberly Morton follow with 15 and 14 points respectively. Gianna has five goals and a like number of assists, while Nicola and Morton have five goals and four helpers to their credit.
Junior backs
Katie Whiting,
Kelly Guerin and
Coco Ebersole anchor a defense, along with freshman
Meagan McKinney, that leads the NE-10 and is second in the nation with a 0.25 goals-against-average. Saint Rose has allowed a mere six goals all season, none in the first half. Furthermore, senior keeper
Shannon Murphy has registered a 0.34 GAA throughout 522 minutes of NCAA Tournament action.
As for Grand Valley State (20-0-4), the Lakers are making their third Championship Finals appearance. It marks the first-ever meeting between the two clubs who have combined for an impressive 44-0-4 record this year. Grand Valley State, ranked #3 in the NSCAA/Adidas Division II Poll, has outscored its opponents 84-10.
The Lakers are led by a talented group of freshmen that include forward Ashley Botts, who leads the scoring parade with 14 goals and five assists for 33 points. Fellow freshman forward Kayla Addison and freshman midfielder Erin Hilbert are on Bott's heels with 27 and 26 points respectively. Addison has 11 goals and five assists on the season, while Hilbert has 11 strikes to go with four helpers.
Another rookie in keeper Chelsea Parise ranks sixth in the country with a 0.43 GAA. She has made 57 saves and chalked up 12 shutouts as well.
Saint Rose is 9-6-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament contests. A year ago, the Golden Knights defeated Mercyhurst (PA) 3-2 in a national quarterfinal affair at West Chester University (PA) after Deck scored the game-winner in the 79th minute. That victory helped solidify the program's first ever Championship Finals appearance.
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