NCAA TOURNAMENT - WOMEN'S SOCCER
Second Round
#10 Saint Rose (19-1-1) vs. #22 Merrimack (16-3-2)
Sunday, November 13 – 1:00 pm
Sullivan Field – Plumeri Sports Complex - Albany, NY
Admission (Tickets available at the gate)
Adults - $6.00
Students with I.D./Senior Citizens - $3.00
Children, ages 2-12 - $3.00
Children under the age of 2 shall be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult
ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose begins its quest for a national championship tomorrow against
Northeast-10 Conference rival and 22nd ranked Merrimack. Kickoff for the
NCAA Tournament second-round match is set for 1:00 pm from Sullivan Field at the Plumeri Sports Complex. A
free live video stream of that contest will be produced by Saint Rose.
Sunday's contest sets the stage for not only a rematch of last week's NE-10 Championship game that the 10th ranked Golden Knights (19-1-1) won 5-1 en route to their fifth straight league title. It furthermore pits Saint Rose against the lone squad that defeated it this year. The Warriors upended the Golden Knights 3-0 back on October 15 in North Andover, MA.
Merrimack (16-3-2) advanced to this point by outscoring Holy Family 5-3 in a shootout after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw throughout 110 minutes of soccer in Friday's opening round game.
Saint Rose, which earned a first-round bye, possesses the nation's (NCAA Division II) most potent offense (3.71 gpg) behind a balanced attack that features six double-digit point producers, the top five of which pace the NE-10 total scoring parade.
Sophomore forward
Carmelina Puopolo leads the way with 36 points. Senior midfielders
Brittany Godin and
Christina Cuffari follow Puopolo with 28 and 27 points respectively. Puopolo paces the league with 13 goals to go with 10 assists, while Godin has 12 strikes and four assists on the year. Cuffari, the 2011 NE-10 Player of the Year, has contributed eight goals and 11 helpers thus far to run her school career assists total to 35.
In the back, sophomore keeper
Jessica Gerski owns a 0.65 goals-against-average between the posts. She has picked up 47 saves and anchors a defense that has 13 shutouts on the year.
Saint Rose is 11-8-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament contests. The Golden Knights have advanced to six regional championship games, including last year when they took a 1-0 win over C.W. Post. That victory helped solidify the program's third consecutive national semifinal appearance.
Merrimack meanwhile is led by a pair of sophomore forwards in Jenna Zechner Danielle Dion. Zechner has 19 points on eight goals and three assists this autumn. Dion stands second on the team with 18 points, tallying eight markers and adding two helpers. She has netted three goals this season against Saint Rose, two in the regular season meeting and the lone marker in the last week's encounter. In goal, senior Kiley Horne has started all 21 contests. She boasts a 0.90 GAA with nine shutouts to her credit.
The winners of tomorrow's match will advance to third round (field of 16) action on Friday, November 18 to determine the East Regional champion. The East Regional champion is then scheduled to host the Atlantic Regional champion in a national quarterfinal match on Sunday, November 20. The winner will advance to the national semifinals in Pensacola, FL.
NCAA Tournament Bracket
