For Immediate Release
December 2, 2011
Courtesy of the Saint Rose Athletics Communications Staff
Pensacola, Fla. – The College of Saint Rose will take aim at the first NCAA national team championship in school history and at same time try to end a run of two-consecutive titles for top-ranked Grand Valley State tomorrow. Kickoff is set for 1:30 pm from Brosnaham Park.
A live video stream will be available at www.NCAA.com.
Saint Rose advanced with Thursday's 2-0 semifinal victory versus #7 Armstrong Atlantic State, (18-3-3), while the Lakers (20-0-4) moved on for the second straight time via penalty kicks after they played to a 1-1 draw with Cal State Chico (13-7-5), which was the final at-large team to be awarded a bid.
Yesterday, the Golden Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead with just seven minutes gone by when sophomore forward Carmelina Puopolo bent a corner from the right flag inside the far post.
Twenty-three minutes later, senior midfielder Gianna D'Errico slipped home a feed up the middle of the area from freshman forward Brittany Barry to make it 2-0 Golden Knights.
Saint Rose then controlled the pace of play and successfully defended its own end throughout the second half. Sophomore keeper Jessica Gerski made four outstanding saves during the final 45 minutes to chalk up her seventh clean sheet of the season.
From a broader perspective, Saint Rose possesses a balanced and dangerous attack coupled with a superlative defensive unit. Seventeen different players have recorded at least a point this season, including six who boast double-digit point totals for the most prolific scoring entity in all NCAA Division II.
The Golden Knights have recorded a school record 88 goals and stand 10th in the country with a 0.47 team goals-against-average on the strength of 16 shutouts. They have surrendered only three second half strikes and have manufactured 210 corner kicks, while yielding a mere 57.
Saint Rose has now outscored its last 11 opponents by a 35-3 margin since its lone defeat this season, a 3-0 setback at Merrimack back on October 15. The Golden Knights have since defeated the Warriors on two subsequent occasions; have outscored their opponents by a 21-2 margin throughout seven postseason contests, and by an 88-9 margin when displacing their lone loss.
Senior midfielder Christina Cuffari, the 2011 Daktronics East Region and NE-10 Player of the Year, is a vital component of an offensive scheme that she furthermore directs by initiating the majority of the squad's set pieces. Cuffari has 29 points on eight goals and 13 assists this season. She also owns the school record with 37 career helpers.
Puopolo, Barry, senior midfielder Brittany Godin, sophomore midfielder Sydney Bond, and Gianna D'Errico are all double--figure scorers as well.
Puopolo is the leading scorer in the NE-10 with a school record 47 points on the strength of 17 goals, including nine game-winners, and 13 assists. She is furthermore one of only four players in school annals to amass 17 strikes in a single season and has now cracked the school's top-10 point production (27-24-78) list.
Godin has four game-winners among her 13 strikes and has set up five others as well, while Barry has 31 points via 14 goals and three assists. Bond, already a two-time All-Conference selection, has registered 27 points via 11 goals and five helpers this autumn.
Gianna D'Errico, who stands tied for ninth behind Puopolo among the College's all-time point producers (29-18-76), has been responsible for 21 points on seven goals and a like number of assists.
Senior midfielders Kimberly Morton and Nicola D'Errico also play a pivotal role in the team's transition. The pair has combined for four goals and three assists thus far. The latter has played a variety of positions this season and was recently recognized by www.collegesoccer360.com for her outstanding national quarterfinal game against California (PA).
Defensively, junior back Meagan McKinney helps directs a group, along with senior Derith Fernandes and junior Molly Harpster, that has surrendered just 12 goals, and 84 shots-on-target throughout 25 contests. Gerski has played the majority of time between the posts. She owns a 0.58 GAA throughout nearly 1,856 minutes of playing time.
As for the Lakers, they are riding a 13-game NCAA Tournament unbeaten streak. Junior forwards Ashley Botts and Kayla Addison lead the scoring parade behind 49 and 37 points respectively. The former has 19 goals and 11 assists, while Anderson has produced 15 strikes and seven helpers on the year.
Junior keeper Chelsea Parise owns a 0.32 GAA. She has surrendered a mere eight goals throughout 2,201 minutes of play and has 14 shutouts to her credit. She furthermore has only one loss throughout 75 career contests and owns 44 career clean sheets.
