No. 16 Franklin Pierce Ends West Chester's Season In Quarterfinals, 1-0
ALBANY, N.Y. – Shona Franklin’s left-footed blast from 18 yards out in the 40th minute was all No. 16 Franklin Pierce needed to move on to the program’s 14th final four in school history Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over No. 19 West Chester in the quarterfinal round of the 2007 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championships at the Albany Academy for Girls.
Franklin Pierce controlled the action for much of the contest, outshooting West Chester (17-3-3) by a 12-2 margin. Golden Rams’ goalkeeper Brittany Barnes (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) made nine saves to keep her teammates in the game. However, her consecutive scoreless streak came to an end at 634 minutes when Franklin’s shot found the back of the net.
The Ravens’ Brittany Ester made just one save to register the shutout in goal for Franklin Pierce (17-1-5).
The quarterfinal matchup marked the third straight year in which these two schools have met for the right to go to the national semifinals. West Chester earned its first final four appearance a year ago with a 2-1 win over the Ravens. Franklin Pierce pushed on to the final four in 2005 with an identical 2-1 win over the Golden Rams.
The loss leaves West Chester at 7-4-2 overall in the NCAA Tournament over the last five years with three straight quarterfinal appearances and a semifinal appearance in 2006.