RINDGE, N.H. - The Saint Michael's College women's soccer lost to nationally-regarded Franklin Pierce University, 2-0, on Saturday during Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field. The Ravens received votes toward this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll and were fourth in the East Region rankings.
RECORDS
- Saint Michael's (4-4-4, 2-4-3 NE10), Franklin Pierce (11-2-1, 8-2 NE10)
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS
OPPONENT LEADERS
- Junior Aino Martikainen, 1 goal
- Sophomore Eleonora Franco, 1 goal
- Sophomore Emilie Fox, 1 save
GAME FACTS
- With three games remaining, Saint Michael's is 11th in the NE10 with nine points, one short of a logjam for eight place in a conference that takes the top eight into its postseason tournament. A pair of sixth-place teams have 11 points.
- The Purple Knights saw their five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) end. It was their longest since Oct 16, 2006, to Sept. 1, 2007.
- Saint Michael's entered the day sixth in Division II in save percentage (.898) and 14th in goals-against average (0.46). The Purple and Gold had allowed only five goals in 11 games, yielding multiple goals only once in its past 14 games since last fall.
- This marked just the fourth time in its past 31 outings since 2019 that Saint Michael's did not play a contest decided by one goal or less.
- This was the 11th contest in 12 series meetings since 2010 the teams were separated by two goals or fewer.
THE ACTION
- The Purple Knights had an opportunity early, with senior Zoe Rogers (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) forcing a turnover just inside midfield before first-year Faith Kosiba's (Dunstable, Mass./Groton-Dunstable Regional) long blast drifted wide in the eighth minute.
- After a foul in the box during the 30th minute, Martikainen buried a penalty kick to give Franklin Pierce the lead.
- Escobedo denied Marikainen's header bid off of a corner kick entry during the 39th minute.
- In the 78th minute, Franco snuck a shot inside the upper left corner after taking junior Anna Crapanzano's long lead pass.
- The Purple Knights' final chance to score came in the 82nd minute, when senior Izzy Ruprecht's (Kingston, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) chip from 30 yards was snagged by Fox near the left corner.
NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME
- Tuesday at Bentley University, 3 p.m.