Northeast-10 Women's Soccer Finals #4 Bryant at #2 Franklin Pierce
Bryant Season Stats / Franklin Pierce Season Stats
RINDGE, N.H. - The Bryant University Women's Soccer team will aim for its first Northeast-10 Championship Sunday when they take on Franklin Pierce in the title game at noon.
The Ravens are the ranked second in the Northeast-10 and tenth nationally.
The Bulldogs 15-6-1 (9-4-1 NE-10) upset top-seed Saint Rose 3-1 on Friday in Albany, N.Y. in the NE-10 Semfinals and defeated Merrimack 2-1 in the NE-10 Quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Stadium to reach the championship.
Stephanie Zalewski (Parsippany, N.J) gave Bryant the 3-1 lead as she fired it low and to the right of Steinberg off a great pair of passes. Daisy Martinez (Eliot, ME) picked up the assist, while Danielle Malta (Bethel, Conn.) ignited the play with a perfect pass to Martinez. The goal was Zalewski's third of the year.
Orzechowski gave Bryant the 1-0 lead when she fired a shot from just outside the box in the 13th minute for the goal. The ball came right to Orzechowski off a deflection in front, and she kicked it to left corner of the net past Steinberg.
Replacing the injured Jessica Neales (Swansea, Mass.) in goal, freshman Katie Mitchell (Deer Park, N.Y.) stopped four shots and picked up the win.
These two teams met on September 9th in Rindge, N.H. with Demoner scoring three goals in a 3-1 win. Casey Grange (Methuen, Mass.) scored her ninth of the season for the Bulldogs' lone goal. Mitchell stopped six shots in net.
The Bulldogs have won seven straight matches since the 2-1 loss to St. Rose and are currently ranked third in the Northeast Region. The 15 wins are a school record for one season.
Grange leads Bryant with 18 goals and 44 points, while Orzechowski has provided a big boost in the playoffs on both offense and defense. She tallied the game-winner in the 3-1 victory at Saint Rose. Pascale leads the Bulldogs with six game-winning tallies. Mitchell is 4-4 on the season with a 1.66 goals-against and three shutouts. Malta anchors the Bulldog defense and has added six assists, including one on Pascale's game-winning tally on Tuesday against Merrimack.
Franklin Pierce defeated the sixth-seed Saint Anselm 2-1 in overtime Friday as junior Gabriela Demoner netted the winning goal and added an assist to lead the Ravens to the victory. Demoner leads the Ravens with 11 goals and ten assists (32 points). Jenna Mello has started 16 of 19 games in goal posting a 0.68 goals-against average and eight shutouts.
Franklin Pierce (17-2-0, 12-2-0 NE-10) is seeking its seventh-straight NE-10 Tournament title. Since starting the season 1-2, the Ravens have won 15 straight games en route to its 17-2 record.
Log on to http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/ during Sunday match for continuous updates. The game will be broadcast live on Franklin Pierce's website beginning at 11:50 a.m.
Log on to http://www.fpc.edu/pages/Athletics/multimedia/streaming.htm to catch the webcast.
Below is the 2006 Northeast-10 Tournament Schedule:
Oct. 24 Northeast-10 Quarterfinals
#8 Le Moyne 0 at #1 Saint Rose 1 (OT)
#7 Stonehill 1 at #2 Franklin Pierce 2
#6 Saint Anselm 1 at #3 UMass Lowell 0
#5 Merrimack 1 at #4 Bryant 2
Oct. 27 Northeast-10 Semifinals
#4 Bryant 3 at #1 Saint Rose 1
#6 St. Anselm 1 at #2 Franklin Pierce 2 (OT)
Oct. 29 Northeast-10 Championship
#4 Bryant at #2 Franklin Pierce
The NCAA Tournament begins Friday November 3rd
