RINDGE, N.H. - The third-seeded Saint Michael's College women's soccer team yielded the winning goal in the 87th minute to No. 2 Franklin Pierce University, the defending Northeast 10 Conference postseason champion, during a 2-1 loss in an NE10 Championship semifinal on Thursday evening at Sodexo Field.
 
The Purple Knights, who sought their first title game appearance while advancing to their first semifinal in 36 years, saw their school-record eight-game winning streak end. As the No. 3 seed in this week's NCAA East Region poll, they now set their sights on a potential NCAA Tournament berth, to be revealed during Monday's 6:30 p.m. selection show; the top six from the East make the championship field. Saint Michael's received votes toward this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll, while the Ravens were fifth in the NCAA East Region rankings.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (16-3-1), Franklin Pierce (13-2-4)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Scarlett Brookes (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls), 1 goal
• Sophomore Sarah Gormley (East Moriches, N.Y./Westhampton Beach), 1 assist
• Sophomore Delaney Kleinman (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches), 1 assist
• First-year Chloe Laizer (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield), 2 saves

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Claudia Peirce, 1 goal
• Junior Jenni Huttunen, 1 goal
• Senior Olivia Crespo, 1 assist
• First-year Ryan Rosario, 4 saves

GAME FACTS

• Brookes' goal was the Purple and Gold's 43rd of the season, tying the 2001 team's school record. Saint Michael's also already set program marks for wins (16), shutouts (13) and assists (60).
• Brookes potted her league-leading 13th goal of the season, the most by a Purple Knight since SMC Athletic Hall of Famer and all-time leading scorer Michelle Bougor '98 tied a school record with 15 in 1996. Brookes' 31 points are fourth in program history. With 20 career goals, she has tied Maura O'Connell '89 for 10th in program history.
• The Purple Knights had yielded only one goal during their eight-game winning streak while going 10-1 away from home this fall entering the evening, including 8-1 in true road games.
• Saint Michael's appeared in its first NE10 Championship semifinal game since 1989.
• A young Purple and Gold squad on the rise, which has started only one senior in more than half of its games, hung tough with a Franklin Pierce team that captured last year's NE10 title on the road and won four NCAA Tournament games at home in 2024 alone, including an Elite Eight contest that propelled it to the Final Four. The Ravens counted six graduate students or seniors in its starting lineup on Thursday and utilized another six returners from its regular 2024 rotation. The Purple Knights' young team featured 12 underclass players among the 18 who appeared, including seven in the starting IX.
• Since Oct. 12, 2024, Franklin Pierce is 14-1-2 at home, losing only to the Purple Knights this Nov. 1. Sodexo Field is typically a tough place for opponents in the postseason, as the Ravens are unbeaten in their last 11 postseason home contests and have only three tournament losses there since joining the NE10 in 2000.
• The hosts held a 10-6 lead in shots, while both teams took one corner kick.

THE ACTION

• Both teams took five shots in the opening half, with the Purple Knights claiming the best looks. Brookes hit the crossbar from the edge of the box in the 11th minute before senior Bella DelVecchio (Saugus, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) curled a corner kick on net that Rosario was forced to bat away in the 14th minute.
• Huttunen found space from 35 yards out in the 15th minute and sent a bid just to the right of the post and a diving Laizer.
• The Purple Knights took the lead at 53:47, with Brookes one-touching a shot between the right post and a diving Rosario after Gormley, with her back to Brookes, headed her a pass off of Kleinman's chip.
• Just 17 seconds later, Peirce found the equalizer, taking Crespo's pass into four defenders and touching out of pressure before lofting a left-footed shot over a sprawled Laizer.
• With the contest still tied, Huttunen unleashed a shot from 25 yards out in the 82nd minute that forced Laizer to leap for the save.
• In the waning minutes, a Raven was pulled down for a foul on the left side of the box, earning the hosts a penalty kick. At 86:30, Huttunen rung a shot off the left post and in for her sixth converted penalty kick in as many career chances to give Franklin Pierce the lead.
• The Purple Knights never gained another good look at goal, as Brookes' tally proved to be their lone shot of the second half.