November 1, 2007

BRYANT WOMEN'S SOCCER ADVANCES TO NE-10 FINALS IN SHOOTOUT

Boxscore

SMITHFIELD, RI - After 110 minutes of scoreless play in Thursday night's Northeast-10 Semifinal at Turf Field, the No. 8 Bryant University women's soccer team took No. 16 Franklin Pierce University all the way to a shootout to advance to Sunday's conference championship.

GOALIE KATIE MITCHELL

The second-seeded Bulldogs and third-seeded Ravens battled to a 0-0 tie through regulation and two overtime periods before Bryant won on penalty kicks, 7-6.

After six successful rounds of penalty kicks for both teams, Bryant's Stephanie Zalewski (Parsippany, NJ) made good on the Bulldogs' seventh shot. Sophomore keeper Katie Mitchell (Deer Park, NY) took care of the rest, tipping the shot from Franklin Pierce's Shannon Mulvey over the crossbar.

But it was Bryant's junior goalkeeper Jessica Clark (Barnstable, Mass.) who kept the Ravens scoreless through 110 minutes of hardnosed, physical play. Clark made six saves on the night, while her counterpart, Brittany Ester, made eight.

The Ravens outshot the Bulldogs, 13-12, in the foul-heavy contest. Bryant got whistled for 19 fouls to Franklin Pierce's nine.

But the Bulldogs almost notched the game winner twice in the second overtime, when shots from Alex DiPippo (Shelton, Conn.) and Amy Orzechowski (Milford, Conn.) found posts in a period where Bryant outshot Franklin Pierce, 4-1.

Second-seeded Bryant will now face off against top-seeded Saint Rose in the Northeast-10 Championship Game, hosted by the Golden Knights, Sunday at 1 p.m. Saint Rose won their own conference semifinal Thursday night, a 2-0 win over fourth-seeded Merrimack.

The NCAA will announce Division II playoff brackets Monday at 5 p.m. Saint Rose, Bryant and Franklin Pierce sit Nos. 1, 2 and 3 respectively in the latest New England Regional Poll. Check back to www.bryantbulldogs.com for updates and to view the full tournament field.