ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose women's soccer team will take its first step towards a fourth straight Northeast-10 Conference Tournament title on Sunday when the top-seed Golden Knights host eighth-seed New Haven at 1:00 pm in a quarterfinal match-up at Sullivan Field at the Christian Plumeri Sports Complex.

Following Wednesday's 4-0 win versus Southern Connecticut State University, Saint Rose completed its second consecutive undefeated season (15-0) in NE-10 play. The Golden Knights, who are the only team in league history to record 15 conference victories, have now chalked up an impressive 38 straight wins in regular-season league play.

Sunday's match with New Haven (9-7-2) marks the third year in a row the two clubs will meet in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. The Golden Knights have won each of the previous two encounters by identical scores of 1-0 and also defeated the Chargers 5-0 back on October 13 in West Haven, CT. Saint Rose (18-0) is 7-1 all-time against New Haven, has taken six consecutive contests between the two clubs and has outscored the Chargers 21-2 in those matches. Saint Rose, which has appeared in the league tournament every year since joining the NE-10 at the outset of the 2000 campaign, owns a 13-6-2 all-time record in tournament play and is unbeaten (8-0-1) in its last nine outings having lost only to Bryant University (now Division I) in a semifinal encounter back in 2006.

The Golden Knights possess a balanced attack as eighteen different players have figured in the scoring column, including 16 who have recorded at least one goal. Saint Rose has additionally shut out six of its last eight opponents and has allowed a mere six goals all year, one in the first half. The Golden Knights furthermore stand second in the nation (NCAA II) in goal scoring average (3.72), fourth in goals-against-average (0.33) and are one of only two (Central Missouri) unbeaten or untied teams.

Junior midfielder Christina Cuffari leads the squad with 26 points on eight goals and 10 assists. She is one of only four players in school history to record 10 assists in a single-season. Freshman forward Carmelina Puopolo, junior forward Gianna D'Errico and freshman forward Sydney Bond are right behind Cuffari with 25, 24 and 23 points respectively. Puopolo is second on the squad with nine assists, D'Errico has a team-high 10 goals and Bond is second only to D'Errico with nine markers.

Between the posts, senior keeper Deanna Esposito leads the nation with a 0.19 GAA and is third with a 0.939 save percentage. Esposito recorded her 18th victory of the season on Wednesday to tie the single-season school record that was set by Shannon Murphy ('09) in 2008. Senior backs Katie Whiting, Kelly Guerin and Coco Ebersole anchor a defense, along with sophomore Meagan McKinney, that has surrendered a mere 42 corner kicks and 57 shots-on-target.

New Haven closed out the regular season by winning three of its final four contests. The Chargers have three players that pose formidable scoring threats as the trio is responsible for six of the club's nine game-winning goals. Senior forward Emily Buckley-Matura leads the team with 16 points on seven goals and two assists. Meanwhile, sophomore midfielder Lucy Francisco and senior midfielder Holly Dawson each have six markers.

Junior keeper Kim Taylor has played every minute between the posts throughout the squad's 18 games. She ranks fourth in the league with 103 saves and owns a 1.21 GAA with seven shutouts and 5.72 saves per-game. The latter is sixth among NE-10 goalkeepers.

The winner of Sunday's contest will advance to Thursday's semifinal round that will be hosted by the higher remaining seed. Fourth-seed American International takes on fifth-seed Southern New Hampshire in the bracket's other quarterfinal match-up at 1:00 pm Sunday in Springfield, MA.

Admission to the game will be $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, children and Saint Rose employees with an ID. Admission is free for Saint Rose students with a valid ID.

Quarterfinals Sunday, October 31st (1:00 pm)
#8 New Haven at #1 Saint Rose
#7 UMass Lowell at #2 Merrimack
#6 Adelphi at #3 Franklin Pierce
#5 Southern NH at #4 American Int'l

Semifinals Thursday, November 4th (at Higher Seed)
Southern NH/American Int'l winner vs. Saint Rose/New Haven winner
Adelphi/Franklin Pierce winner vs. UMass Lowell/Merrimack winner

Sunday, November 7th
Championship at highest remaining seed