St. Rose women to final four, Siena falters

For the second year in a row, the St. Rose women's soccer team will be playing in the NCAA Division II Champion-ship Finals.

The Albany school punched their ticket with a 1-0 victory over California (PA) on Nov. 22. The Golden Knights, ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA/Adidas Division II poll, played up to their ranking by outshooting California (ranked 23rd) 12-2 and holding a 9-1 differential in corner kicks.

Freshman Carly Pengelly scored the lone goal of the game in the 37th minute. Saint Rose advanced to the quarterfinal game against California by beating rival Franklin Pierce the day before. Amanda Deck, who leads the team with 25 points (nine goals and seven assists), scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory.

Saint Rose will now take on Grand Valley State (MI) in the National semifinals on Dec. 3 in Tampa. The National Champi-onship is scheduled for Dec. 5.

Siena
Entering the weekend, the Siena Saints were knocking on the door of the AP Top 25 poll. A win against Temple on the road on Nov. 21 might have vaulted the Loudonville school into the rankings for the first time in school history.

However, the Saints let a 36-30 halftime lead slip away, and fell just short in a back-and-forth game, 73-69.

Siena senior Alex Franklin led all scorers with 22 points, playing 38 of 40 minutes. Before losing to Temple, the Saints opened their home schedule in front of a national audience on ESPN, as they defeated Northeastern 59-53 on Nov. 17. Edwin Ubiles was the star of the game, scoring 28 points. The win improved the Saints home winning streak to 22 games, the third longest in the nation.

(11-26-09)