Women's Soccer Earns Division II-Record 19th-Straight NCAA Tournament Appearance: Ravens to face Bridgeport in First Round on Friday
Ravens to take on Bridgeport in first round on Friday in Albany, N.Y.
2010 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament Bracket
RINDGE, N.H. (November 8, 2010) -- The Franklin Pierce
University women's soccer team added to its Division II-record
Monday night when the Ravens earned their 19th-consecutive trip to
the NCAA Tournament.
Franklin Pierce (14-5-1) will be the fourth-seed in the East Region
and will take on fifth-seeded Bridgeport (13-3-2) in the first
round on Friday. The match will be held on Saint Rose's campus in
Albany, N.Y., as the winner of Friday's match will face the
top-seeded Golden Knights (21-0-0) on Sunday. The time for both
matches are still to be determined and will be announced at some
point on Tuesday afternoon.
Joining Saint Rose as the other host-school in the East Region is
second-seeded C.W. Post (13-1-4). The Pioneers will face the winner
of Friday’s opening round match between third-seeded American
International (13-6-1) and sixth-seeded Georgian Court (11-8-2).
The C.W. Post sub-regional will be held in Brookville, N.Y.
The two teams that advance from the East sub-regionals will battle
for the East Region championship on Friday, Nov. 19, at the
top-remaining seed from the Atlantic Region. The East Region
champion would then face the Atlantic Region champion on Sunday,
Nov. 21 in the NCAA national quarterfinals, thus determining who
would advance to the Final Four on the first weekend in
December.
Franklin Pierce will be making its NCAA Division II record
19th-straight appearance in the NCAA women's tournament. The Ravens
have won an NCAA Division II-record five national championships
(1994-97, '99) and reached the national final on two other
occasions, including the 2007 season when the Ravens fell in a
penalty kick shootout to the University of Tampa after the two
sides played to a 0-0 double-overtime draw.
Since regional play began in 1996, Franklin Pierce has won 12-of-14
regional titles. The Ravens have appeared in the Final Four 14
times in their 18 previous NCAA Tournament appearances.
Franklin Pierce will enter the national tournament coming off an
appearance in the Northeast-10 Championship game on Sunday as it
dropped a tough 3-0 decision to Saint Rose.
The Ravens are led offensively by junior forward Amanda
Panaro (Rockland, Mass.), who is tops in the Northeast-10
in goals scored with 19. A 2010 First-Team All-Northeast-10
selection, Panaro has logged 42 points this season and has produced
a pair of hat-trick performances.
Two other Ravens earned first-team all-league honors this season,
including senior midfielder Shona Franklin (Birmingham,
England) and senior back Kelly Weygand
(Bridgewater, Mass.). Franklin has scored eight goals and
assisted on six others for 22 points and is among the league
leaders in tallies and game-winning goals (5). Weygand has anchored
a defensive unit which is among the league leaders in goals against
average and shutouts. She also scored twice in the Ravens' 4-2 win
over Merrimack in the NE-10 semifinals last Thursday.
Franklin Pierce and Bridgeport will be meeting in the NCAA
Tournament for the second-consecutive season. Last year, the Ravens
downed the Purple Knights, 4-1, in the second round in Bridgeport,
Conn. Gabriela Demoner and Angelika Johansson each scored a pair of
goals in the win, while Franklin and Weygand each registered an
assist. Jocelyn Leon (Lenox, Mass.) made nine
saves to earn the win in goal.
For more information on Franklin Pierce women's soccer, please
visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow
the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on
YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter
(www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook
(www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).
2010 NCAA
DIVISION II WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT EAST
REGIONAL
First Round (Friday, Nov. 12)
#4 Franklin Pierce vs. #5 Bridgeport, TBA (at Albany, N.Y.)
#3 American International vs. #6 Georgian Court, TBA (at
Brookville, N.Y.)
Second Round (Sunday, Nov. 14)
Franklin Pierce/Bridgeport Winner vs. #1 Saint Rose, TBA (at
Albany, N.Y.)
American International/Georgian Court Winner vs. #2 C.W. Post, TBA
(at Brookville, N.Y.)
East Region Championship (Friday, Nov.
19)
Franklin Pierce/Bridgeport/Saint Rose Winner vs. American
International/Georgian Court/C.W. Post Winner, TBA (at highest
remaining seed in the Atlantic Region)