No. 14 Women's Soccer Knocks Off SNHU, 3-1 To Open NCAA East Regional
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Southern New Hampshire (6-6-5, 3-4-5) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
|
Franklin Pierce (15-3-2, 10-2-0) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
RINDGE, N.H. (11/11/22) – It was a rainy afternoon at Sodexo Field for the second-seeded Franklin Pierce University Ravens, who were able to knock off the seventh-seeded Southern New Hampshire University Penman in the opening round of the NCAA Championship East Regional, winning by a 3-1 final score. The tournament triumph comes as the first for the Ravens since the 2018 campaign.
With the win, the Ravens improve to 15-3-2 overall and advance to this Sunday's second round matchup with the third-seeded University of Bridgeport Purple Knights. The Penmen exit the tournament with a 6-6-5 overall record.
It took just over thirty minutes before the Ravens officially broke the scoreless tie in the first half, following the second goal of the season for freshman Jenna Delgado (Gilroy, Calif.) who wasted no time on a perfectly placed feed far post from fellow first year Ruby Conroy (Hawthorne, N.J.). Prior to the conclusion of the half, the Ravens would add to their lead following a fortunate bounce off a corner kick, as the ball found freshman forward Shannon Burns (Medfield, Mass.) for her first collegiate goal. The Ravens would carry the 2-0 advantage into the second half.
Into the 65th minute of the second half, the Ravens found similar success off another corner cross by freshman midfielder Claudia Pierce (Carver, Mass.), eventually finding sophomore Salome Kerguillec (Landerneau, France) for her sixth on the season. However, the Penmen answered the call in the 70th minute with a goal from sophomore Lauren Conti, cutting the deficit to 3-1 with under 20 minutes left to play. Despite breaking the shutout bid, the goal came as too little too late for the Penman, as time would tick away to the eventual 3-1 final score.
Sophomore goalkeeper Emelie Fox (Bridgewater, Mass.) claimed the win through the full 90 minutes for the Ravens, turning away seven-of-eight shots faced. Penmen keeper Hannah Rose additionally played through the entirety of the match, making four saves on seven shots faced.
The third-ranked University of Bridgeport Purple Knights advanced to the second round with their 1-1 (3-2 PK's) victory over No.6 Saint Anselm earlier in the afternoon. The tournament action will once again return to Sodexo Field on Sunday, with the second round bout between the Ravens and the Purple Knights scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
