ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose remained at #2 for the fifth consecutive week according to the latest
NSCAA/Adidas Division II Poll that was released earlier today. It once again marks the highest in-season ranking for the Golden Knights (19-0) who were listed #3 throughout four previous weeks after opening the year at #4.
West Florida (17-0), which defeated Saint Rose in an NCAA Tournament national semifinal game last season, stayed atop the poll; and the three through five spots remained the same as well from a week ago. Grand Valley State, MI (17-0-2) is third followed by Metro State, CO (19-1) and West Chester, PA (16-1-1).
Northeast-10 Conference rival Franklin Pierce (15-3-1) rose three spots from #22 to #19. The Ravens have lost only once in their last 15 matches, a 2-0 road defeat at the hands of Saint Rose back on October 10. Meanwhile, UMass Lowell (12-4-3) fell out of the poll following a 1-0 setback to Merrimack in its regular-season finale.
The Golden Knights have asserted themselves through a balanced attack. Eighteen different players have figured in the scoring column, including 14 who have recorded at least one goal. Saint Rose has shutout 12 of its last 13 opponents, including seven straight, and has surrendered a mere four goals all year. The Golden Knights stand second in the country with a 0.21 goals-against-average and have yielded only 31 corner kicks, while generating 140 of their own.
Junior midfielder
Amanda Deck and sophomore forward
Gianna D’Errico lead the team’s scoring parade. Deck has 18 points behind six goals and a like number of assists, while D’Errico has five goals and five assists for 15 points.
Between the posts, sophomore keeper
Susan Cowan leads the NE-10 with a 0.16 GAA and a 0.951 save percentage. Junior backs
Katie Whiting,
Kelly Guerin and
Coco Ebersole anchor a defense, along with freshman
Meagan McKinney, that has surrendered a mere 31 corner kicks and 70 shots-on-target.
Up next, Saint Rose will be playing in its eighth straight NE-10 semifinal Thursday. The top-seeded Golden Knights will host fourth seeded Merrimack (13-4-3). Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm at The Albany Academies.