CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE
Golden Knights Capture Eighth NE10 Championship in Program History.
ALBANY, N.Y. – Top-seeded Saint Rose scored all three of its goals in the second half including the game-winner with 10 seconds remaining to capture the Northeast-10 Conference Championship behind today's 3-2 come-from-behind victory against visiting Southern Connecticut State. In the process, the Golden Knights (17-2-1) tied a league record with their eighth conference postseason title.
Freshman midfielder Sanna Rein provided the game-winner when she headed home a corner from the left flag that was delivered by senior midfielder Morgan Burchhardt.
Saint Rose came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit by striking twice in the opening 16 minutes of the second half. Senior forward Nina Predanic buried a penalty kick that tied it and freshman forward Olivia Boucher turned her defender in the area and drove home a Burchhardt feed from the right flank to make it 2-1. Those were the first two goals given up this postseason by the Owls (10-7-4).
Southern Connecticut State afforded the match its second deadlock when back Paula Nunez, a graduate student, lofted a free kick from 35-yards out on the right sideline into the top far corner.
Extra time then appeared to be imminent, but Rein provided the game-winner to grant Saint Rose its title and an automatic berth to the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Notes: The Golden Knights will be making their second straight and 15th overall NCAA Tournament appearance…They have won at least 15 matches in 12 of the past 17 years and are ranked #11 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches National Poll…Saint Rose is also the top-ranked side in the United Soccer Coaches East Regional rankings for the ninth consecutive week…In addition, the Golden Knights are tops in the third NCAA Regional Poll that was posted Wednesday…Predanic, the 2019 NE10 Player of the Year, continues to lead the league in goals (18), points (51), and assists (13)…The next closest overall scorer trails her by 21 points…She is also among the top-10 in each category nationally, and stands second with eight game-winning goals…Boucher is third in the NE10 with 11 goals on the year…Laurendeau is second among the league leaders with a 0.94 goals-against-average and fifth behind a 0.796 save percentage…Predanic and Burchhardt have accumulated 129 and 107 career points respectively…Saint Rose is the nation's lone squad with a pair of 100 point scorers…Predanic is second on the College's all-time scoring list…Only former National Player of the Year Carmelina Puopolo ('14) produced more with 199 points…Burchhardt is in fifth place, six shy of moving past Eliza Whipple ('03) into fourth…Predanic joined Puoplo as the lone two players in program annals to record 50-point seasons…In addition, Predanic is one of a mere 10 active players in the country with 30 goals and 20 assists…Burchhardt is a goal shy of becoming the 11th…The Golden Knights have outscored their foes 59-19, including 29-7 in the first half…They continue to lead the NE10 in both scoring offense (2.85) and defense (0.93)…Saint Rose came into this afternoon with the country's 14th best won-loss% despite playing the 10th toughest schedule.
ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Nina Predanic, Saint Rose*
Morgan Burchhardt, Saint Rose
Eva Frazzoni, Saint Rose
Nadine Hilkert, SCSU
Allie Smith, SCSU
Emily Gefell, AIC
Kat Hassapis, Bentley
* Most Outstanding Player
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.