2001 NCAA Division II Quarterfinals

Franklin Pierce 1, Lock Haven 0   ot
November 17, 2001
McCollum Field - Lock Haven, Pa.
 
(L) LHU fans packed the stands at McCollum Field to support the Lady Eagles;
(R) Lady Eagle Danielle Smith in action versus Franklin Pierce

Lock Haven Haven University (18-4-0)    0- 0 - 0       0
Franklin Pierce College (22-0)                     0 -0 - 1       1

Shots: LHU (4), Franklin Pierce (9)
Corners: LHU (7), Franklin Pierce (6)
Goalkeepers: Ashley Babiarz (LHU) - 93 min., 4 sv, 1 ga ; Kim Higgins (FPC) - 93 min., 2 sv., 0 ga.

(Lock Haven, Pa.) -  Franklin Pierce College forward April Mann (Brisbane, Australia/Saint Thomas More) scored the game winner in the 93rd minute of play to lift the Ravens (22-0) over Lock Haven University (18-4) in this afternoon’s NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Quarterfinal game, held at McCollum Field. With this victory, Franklin Pierce will advance to their 10th consecutive semifinal appearance.

An intense battle ensued from the start, but it was Franklin Pierce who had the two best scoring opportunities in the first half. In the 30th minute, April Mann dribbled down the right sideline, into the box before taking her shot, missing wide right by a few inches. With seven-minutes remaining in the first half, Angela Verdoes (Katwijk Aan Zee, Holland/Ter Leede) rocketed a shot from outside the box towards the goal. LHU keeper Ashley Babiarz (Philadelphia/Northeast) deflected the ball off the crossbar before collecting it to keep the score deadlocked at 0-0.

LHU had a scoring opportunity midway through the second half, when Kristi Ward (Philadelphia/Nazareth Academy) crossed to ball through traffic off a corner kick before LHU freshman Danielle Smith (Johnson, N.Y./Minisink Valley) blasted the ball wide left.

In the 76th minute, Angela Verdoes took control of the ball inside the box and launched the ball towards the upper left side of the goal. LHU netminder Ashley Babiarz made the save as she jumped up to deflect the ball over the crossbar. With 15-seconds remaining, FPC had control of the ball on the left sideline and crossed the ball in front of the net. Barbiarz came out of net to steal the ball to send the game in to overtime.

Three-minutes into the first overtime period, FPC junior Patricia Keeldar (Amsterdam, Holland/Ter Leede) crossed the bal in front of the goal, where Mann took advantage of a miscommunication by LHU and put the loose ball in the back of the net for the game winner.

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2001 NCAA Division II Northeast Region Championships

Lock Haven 3, Slippery Rock 2, ot
November 10, 2001
McCollum Field - Lock Haven, Pa.

Lock Haven Haven University (18-3-0)    1- 1 - 1       3
Slippery Rock University (14-5)                 0 -2 - 0       2

(Lock Haven, Pa.) -  Lock Haven’s Katie Taylor (Hammonton, N.J./Edgewood) tallied the game-winner in the 99th minute of play to give the Lady Eagles (18-3) the 3-2 overtime victory over Slippery Rock University (14-5) in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Championship game held at McCollum Field this afternoon.

LHU controlled the tempo throughout the first half, outshooting The Rock 8-0 and scoring the first goal of the game on a give-and-go play from Katie Taylor to Becky Nichols (Wind Gap/Nazareth) in just the fifth minute of play. Nichols gained the ball just inside midfield, and played it forward, slicing through defenders to pass to a waiting Taylor, who one-touched it back to Nichols. Nichols slid the ball right past the keeper into the back of the net to make the score 1-0 in favor of the Lady Eagles.

Slippery Rock opened the second half on a tear, keeping the ball on the attack for most of the first ten minutes of action. With 22 minutes left, SRU got its first real scoring opportunity off a cornerkick. LHU attempted to clear the ball but Maureen Ennis (Brookfield, Ireland/St. Alders C.S.) got a foot on it at the top of the 18-yard box and booted it toward the goal but had the shot go just high over the crossbar. It would be only two minutes later that The Rock would get one to go in, however, as Sara Arsenault (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) broke away down the right sideline, then beat the keeper at the top of the box and finished off the run by burying the ball in the back of the net to bring the score to 1-1.

With just over four minutes remaining in the second half and Lock Haven on the attack, Katie Taylor took the ball in the middle, then passed left to Brooke Rangi (Kawerau, New Zealand/Kawerau). Rangi sent the shot into the back of the net to the right of the keeper, giving Lock Haven the late 2-1 advantage. Slippery Rock fought back hard, and earned a cornerkick in the 90th minute. Arsenault took the corner, and Jessica Markowski (North Royalton, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) met the ball at the far corner of the goal, sneaking the ball past the Haven keeper to tie up the game at 2-2 with just 30 seconds remaining in regulation.

Into overtime, both squads were able to work the ball downfield and take chances on goal only to be halted by the opposing defense. Eight minutes into the first extra stanza, Lock Haven spread the field and went on the attack. Naomi Clarke (Cambridge, New Zealand (St. Peter’s School) found Katie Taylor breaking on her right, and sent the pass forward. Taylor met the ball and saw an opening in the left corner of the goal, shooting the ball past the SRU keeper for the score and the victory.

Lock Haven advances to the national quarterfinals for the second time in the program’s history, and will face New England Region champion Franklin Pierce College, who defeated Merrimack College, 2-1, in overtime, in action this afternoon. LHU’s last quarterfinal appearance was in 1999, a 3-1 loss to the eventual national champion Franklin Pierce College.

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