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Team Huddle - 2014
Tom Killips
The Golden Knights are making their sixth NCAA National Semifinal appearance within the past seven years.

Women's Soccer David Alexander

GOLDEN KNIGHTS SET TO FACE DFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPION GRAND VALLEY STATE

2014 SAINT ROSE WOMEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, December 4 | 5:00 pm | NCAA Tournament National Semifinal
Owsley B. Frazier Stadium | Bellarmine University | Louisville, Ky.
#6 Saint Rose (21-1-2) vs. #11 Grand Valley State (21-2-1)
Live Stats | Live Video | Digital Media Guide | Saint Rose Statistics | Grand Valley Statistics | Bracket
Fall Festival | NCAA Program
Series: Tied 1-1 | First Meeting: 2009 NCAA National Semifinal
 
Last Time Out: The College of Saint Rose upended host West Chester 2-0 on Sunday, November 23 to advance. Freshman midfielder Roxana Hernandez and senior forward Carmelina Puopolo accounted for the two Saint Rose strikes in the second half. Freshman forward Morgan Burchhardt picked up the assist on Hernandez's game-winner, while junior midfielder Gianna Smith set up Puopolo, who broke her own school record with her 21st strike of the season. Hernandez got the Golden Knights on the scoreboard when she knocked home a corner off the foot of Burchhardt with 48:57 gone by. Puopolo then afforded Saint Rose some breathing room at the 84:28 mark when she drove a low shot past West Chester sophomore keeper Alex Srolis.
 
Last Meeting (12/3/11 | National Championship | Pensacola, FL):  Puopolo scored twice in the opening 11 minutes of the second half and Jessica Gerski made five saves and helped direct a defensive unit that kept the nation's top-ranked team off the scoreboard for the final 58 minutes. The Lakers struck first with 32:25 elapsed. Ashley Botts dribbled diagonally from the left side through the box and ripped a shot that went inside the left post for her 20th goal of the year that put Grand Valley up 1-0 at intermission. However, Saint Rose came out of the locker room and immediately began to dictate the rate of play. Puopolo first one-timed a left-footed volley that found the corner of the net with 47:49 elapsed and then used some nifty foot work for her 10th game-winner of the year. Puopolo collected a feed from Molly Harpster on the left side of the box, dribbled twice to shake her defender, and rifled a shot from 10-yards out to make it 2-1 Golden Knights. That is how it stood up as Saint Rose successfully defended its end throughout the final 25 minutes.
 
Scouting #6 Saint Rose (21-1-2): The Golden Knights are ranked sixth nationally and are 24-10-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament contests. This is the 13th time in 14 years that Saint Rose is competing in the field. This represents the Golden Knights sixth national semifinal appearance (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012) within the past seven years. They have also won at least 20 games in each of the past seven seasons and have compiled a .902 winning percentage (151-12-10) during that span. Saint Rose is 15th in the country in scoring offense (2.54) and is fifth in team goals-against-average (0.361). The Golden Knights have shutout 16 of their 24 opponents, including five of six in the postseason. Saint Rose has furthermore won eight straight, is 4-0-2 in overtime, has outscored its opponents 61-9 and has yielded only 64 corner kicks. Sixteen players have at least one goal including Puopolo who stands second nationally with 21 goals and 49 points. Nine of her strikes have been game-winners, which lead the country. Her 21 strikes furthermore eclipse her own previous single season school record of 20…Burchhardt has eight goals and a team-leading 11 assists, 13th most in the country. Junior forward Jennifer Busk has 10 assists to her credit. Sophomore keeper Ashley Homer has logged all of the squad's 2,244 minutes, most in the country, and is fourth nationally with a 0.361 GAA. Senior back Jourdan Thompson plays a key role in the middle of the defense. She is flanked by senior La'Quilla Upton and junior Nicole Shively, and plays behind junior Michaela Phillips, a central defensive midfielder. Senior forward Meeghan Arno, senior midfielder Emily Benjamin, and junior midfielder Amanda Vasquez, along with Smith and Hernandez, have combined for eight goals and five assists.
 
Scouting #11 Grand Valley State (21-2-1): The defending national champion Lakers are making their sixth consecutive NCAA semifinal appearance. They also won it all in 2009 and 2010, and were runner-up to the Golden Knights in 2011 and Metro State in 2006. They have outscored their opponents 75-11 this season and are third in the nation in scoring offense (3.13) and seventh in team GAA (0.453). Grand Valley State has eight double-figure point producers including freshman forward Gabriella Mencotti who has 42 points on 16 goals and 10 assists. Senior forward Jenny Shaba has 10 goals and a team-leading 16 helpers, while sophomore midfielder Marti Corby has contributed 11 goals and 12 assists. Senior keeper Andrea Strauss has played all but 47 of the team's 2,186 minutes. She owns a 0.42 GAA and a 0.872 save percentage.
 
Up Next: The winner of today's match will meet either Colorado Mines or Rollins in Saturday's National Championship that is tentatively scheduled for a 3:00 pm start.
Please visit www.gogoldenknights.com for the latest news and results on Saint Rose athletics. Sign up for our SMS text message service to have results sent directly to your cell phone by clicking here. Sign up for our E-Newsletter for the latest news by clicking here and for information on the Golden Knights Club, click here.
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Players Mentioned

Meeghan ARNO

#20 Meeghan ARNO

M/F
5' 2"
Senior
Emily BENJAMIN

#19 Emily BENJAMIN

M/F
5' 4"
Senior
Jennifer BUSK

#27 Jennifer BUSK

F
5' 11"
Junior
Ashley HOMER

#1 Ashley HOMER

GK
5' 9"
Sophomore
Michaela PHILLIPS

#23 Michaela PHILLIPS

M
5' 7"
Junior
Carmelina PUOPOLO

#5 Carmelina PUOPOLO

F
5' 5"
Senior
Nicole SHIVELY

#3 Nicole SHIVELY

B
5' 7"
Junior
Gianna SMITH

#22 Gianna SMITH

M
5' 6"
Junior
Jourdan THOMPSON

#13 Jourdan THOMPSON

B
5' 6"
Senior
La

#25 La'Quilla UPTON

B
5' 8"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Meeghan ARNO

#20 Meeghan ARNO

5' 2"
Senior
M/F
Emily BENJAMIN

#19 Emily BENJAMIN

5' 4"
Senior
M/F
Jennifer BUSK

#27 Jennifer BUSK

5' 11"
Junior
F
Ashley HOMER

#1 Ashley HOMER

5' 9"
Sophomore
GK
Michaela PHILLIPS

#23 Michaela PHILLIPS

5' 7"
Junior
M
Carmelina PUOPOLO

#5 Carmelina PUOPOLO

5' 5"
Senior
F
Nicole SHIVELY

#3 Nicole SHIVELY

5' 7"
Junior
B
Gianna SMITH

#22 Gianna SMITH

5' 6"
Junior
M
Jourdan THOMPSON

#13 Jourdan THOMPSON

5' 6"
Senior
B
La

#25 La'Quilla UPTON

5' 8"
Senior
B