Wednesday, October 31 | 4:00 pm
Sullivan Field at the Plumeri Sports Complex | Albany, NY
Southern Connecticut State (9-5-3) at #17 Saint Rose (15-1-2)
Live Stats | NE-10 Standings | Live Video
The Plot: The College of Saint Rose welcomes Southern Connecticut State University for a
Northeast-10 Conference Championship quarterfinal match at
Sullivan Field at the Plumeri Sports Complex tomorrow afternoon. Kickoff is set for 4:00 pm.
Last Meeting (10/16/12): A scoreless contest until the 74th minute, freshman midfielder Michaela Phillips headed in a rebound off sophomore forward Meeghan Arno's shot that hit the crossbar to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead that later was increased to 2-0 as junior forward Carmelina Puopolo tipped in a loose ball just four minutes later. Saint Rose was able to hold off Southern Connecticut State's rally in the final 13 minutes despite a goal by junior midfielder Suzane Pires, clinching a 2-1 victory.
Scouting #17 Saint Rose (15-1-2/12-1-2 NE-10): The Golden Knights shared the NE-10 regular-season title with American International, as both teams finished at 12-1-2 in league play. The Yellow Jackets earned the number one seed via tiebreaker after defeating host Saint Rose 1-0 on Tuesday, October 2 in double overtime. Regardless, 2012 represents the seventh straight year that the Golden Knights have won at least a share of the conference regular-season championship. Saint Rose has shut out six of its last seven opponents entering this afternoon. For the fourth straight week, the Golden Knights are ranked #17 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Top-25 Poll. Puopolo finished the regular-season with the highest point total in the league behind 16 goals and 13 assists for 45 points, 19 points ahead of the second highest point producer. Junior forward Sydney Bond wrapped up her regular-season sixth in the conference in scoring with 11 goals and two assists for 24 points. Furthermore, two freshmen tied for 13th in the NE-10 at 17 points. Forward Kristin Carr tallied six goals and five assists while midfielder Amanda Vasquez recorded seven goals and three assists. Vasquez also tied for first with five game-winning strikes. Junior keeper Jessica Gerski finished her regular-season on a high note, putting together three straight shutouts en route to six clean sheets on the season. She is first in the NE-10 in save percentage (.906), goals-against-average (0.30), and wins (14).
Scouting Southern Connecticut State (9-5-3/7-5-3 NE-10): The Owls earned the seventh seed in the NE-10 Championship after a 7-5-3 regular-season conference mark. Southern Connecticut State played in tight matches all season, finishing 7-5 in games decided by a mere one goal and 1-1-3 in overtime matches. Pires led the Owls in all three major offensive categories with six goals and four assists that yielded 16 points. Junior midfielder Janie Jannitto has made her only two strikes count as both were credited as game-winners. Freshman keeper Elizabeth Nickerson has played in 12 matches this season. She owns 0.64 GAA, on the stength of six shutouts, that places her fourth in the conference. On the season, the Owls have proved to be a much more aggresive team during the second half. They have taken 108 shots in the second stanza compared to 75 during the opening 45 minutes.
Up Next: The winner of this match will advance to face the winner of third-seed Southern New Hampshire and six-seed New Haven in a semifinal encounter on Friday at 4:00 pm. Saint Rose would host, while the Owls would once again have to travel.
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