ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose women's soccer team will be seeking its fourth consecutive berth in the championship game of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament when the Golden Knights host American International College in a semifinal contest on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 4:00 pm at Sullivan Field at the Christian Plumeri Sports Complex.

Saint Rose (19-0-0), which is one of only two (Central Missouri) unbeaten or untied teams in the country (Division II), arrived at this juncture behind Sunday's 5-0 victory over the University of New Haven. It was the third year in a row the Golden Knights eliminated the Chargers. This furthermore marks the ninth straight year Saint Rose has advanced to the semifinal round of the league tournament. The Golden Knights garnered the top seed in the eight-team field by earning their fifth consecutive regular-season title.

The fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets (13-4-1) pulled off a 2-1 victory versus fifth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Sunday, marking its first NE-10 Tournament win since 1999. American International rallied from a 1-0 deficit with two markers throughout the final 15 minutes, including the game-winner with 54 seconds on the clock.

The two clubs will meet for the second time this season on Thursday. The Golden Knights scored early and continued to control the pace of play en route to a 1-0 victory in Albany on September 25. Saint Rose, who is ranked #1 for the eighth straight week in the latest NSCAA/HendrickCars.com Division II poll, owns a 12-6 record against the Yellow Jackets all-time. American International took six of the first seven meetings between the two teams, but Saint Rose has won 11 in a row. The Golden Knights have never met the Yellow Jackets in an NE-10 Tournament game and the two sides have furthermore never squared off in a postseason contest.

Saint Rose has asserted itself through a balanced attack that stands third in the nation (NCAA II) in goal scoring average (3.79). Junior midfielder Christina Cuffari leads the squad with 28 points on nine goals and 10 assists. She is one of only four players in school history to record 10 assists in a single-season. Freshmen forwards Carmelina Puopolo and Sydney Bond are right behind Cuffari with 27 and 26 points respectively. Puopolo is tied for second on the team with nine goals and nine assists, while Bond also has nine markers to go along with eight helpers.

Between the posts, senior keeper Deanna Esposito has already established a single-season school record with 19 victories. She owns a 0.18 goals-against-average, which leads the nation, to go along with 47 saves and 10 shutouts. Senior backs Katie Whiting, Kelly Guerin and Coco Ebersole anchor a defense, along with sophomore Meagan McKinney, that stands fourth in the country with a 0.32 GAA. They have furthermore helped the Golden Knights shut out seven of their last nine opponents and have surrendered only six goals all year, one in the first half.

American International has strung together an 8-2-1 mark since suffering the aforementioned 1-0 setback against Saint Rose 12 games ago. The Yellow Jackets have a pair of scoring threats in senior forward Cassie Ashwell and freshman forward Caroline Heron. Ashwell leads the squad with 24 points on nine goals and six assists, while Heron has eight goals and two helpers for 18 points.

Kara Potts has put together a 6-3-1 mark in goal where she owns a 0.47 GAA with 61 saves and six shutouts. She additionally ranks second among NE-10 keepers with a 0.924 save percentage.

Admission to Thursday's 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. The games will also be streamed live on www.gogoldenknights.tv.