ALBANY – There have been four women’s soccer teams to repeat as champions of the Northeast-10 Conference since 1985. The College of Saint Rose is coming off its second NE-10 championship in any sport a year ago and at 1:00 pm Sunday, at Siena College, the top-seeded Golden Knights will have a chance to defend their crown and join Franklin Pierce University and Merrimack College as the only clubs to capture three straight titles.
It just so happens that Saint Rose (20-0-0) will have to defeat one of the aforementioned teams in the second-seeded Ravens (16-3-1), who had a string of seven consecutive titles come to an end in 2007. The two clubs have met in postseason play seven times, including twice a year ago when the Golden Knights walked away with a 5-3 shootout win to capture the league championship and then upended Franklin Pierce 4-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, the two schools represent the only two institutions among 16 that have tasted victory in the conference tournament final this millennium.
Saint Rose arrives at this juncture on the strength of a perfect 20-0 slate following Thursday’s 2-0 semifinal triumph versus Merrimack. The Golden Knights have allowed only four goals, none in the first half, and have chalked up a school record 16 shutouts. The Ravens have gone 14-1-1 since dropping two in a row to begin the month of September, their lone loss coming via a 2-0 setback against Saint Rose in Albany back on October 10. Franklin Pierce needed overtime to get past UMass Lowell 2-1 in the other semifinal affair on Thursday, thus propelling the Ravens into their ninth title game in the past 10 seasons.
The Golden Knights are ranked #2 in this week’s
NSCAA/Adidas Division II Poll for the fifth straight week. They remain one of only two (West Florida) unbeaten or untied teams and stand second in the nation with a 0.20 goals-against-average. Saint Rose has also tied last year’s school mark of 20 victories and recorded the program’s 250th win less than a week ago.
Eighteen different players have figured in the scoring column for the Golden Knights, including 14 who have recorded at least one goal. Junior midfielder
Amanda Deck has produced a team-leading 20 points with seven goals and six assists. Sophomore forward
Gianna D’Errico is right behind her with 15 points via five goals and five assists.
Sophomore keeper
Susan Cowan leads the NE-10 with a slim 0.15 GAA and a 0.956 save percentage. She has furthermore collected six clean sheets and 43 saves. Junior backs
Katie Whiting,
Kelly Guerin and
Coco Ebersole anchor a defense, along with freshman
Meagan McKinney, that has shutout 13 of its last 14 opponents.
Franklin Pierce, which is ranked #19 in this week’s NSCAA/Adidas Division II Poll, possesses the league’s highest scoring offense and ranks eighth in the nation (Division II) with 66 goals throughout 20 games. Senior midfielder and NE-10 Player of the Year Gabriela Demoner leads the country with 30 goals. She has also produced seven assists for 67 points. Meanwhile, junior forward Angelika Johansson has 16 strikes and three assists for 35 points. The duo represents the top-two scoring threats in the conference.
Sophomore keeper Jocelyn Leon is 11-1-0 with seven shutouts and a 0.59 GAA throughout 12 starts this season. She helps solidify a defense, along with senior back and NE-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year Rachel Smith, that has surrendered 85 shots-on-target.
Admission to Sunday’s game will be $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and children and $1 for students from NE-10 institutions. The game will also be broadcast live online for free at
http://www.northeast10.tv/.