Nov. 5, 2003

FAIRFIELD, CT (November 5, 2003) - The Sacred Heart women's soccer team entered the 2003 season with high expectations and a goal of reaching their third-straight Northeast Conference Tournament. The Pioneers reached that goal with a 9-5-3 overall record and a 7-2-0 second place finish in league play. SHU's blend of experience, youth and tremendous goalkeeping has them primed for a run at their second NEC title in three years.

The Pioneers will face Long Island in the opening round of the 2003 NEC Tournament Friday afternoon. The Pioneers are the #2 seed and will face the #3 seeded Blackbirds at 1:30 pm in the second game of the day. The #1 seeded and defending champion Central Connecticut Blue Devils will face #4 seeded Monmouth in the opening game of the day at 11:00 am. Sacred Heart and Long Island met back on October 19th with the Pioneers coming away with a 2-0 win in Brooklyn, NY. Juniors Christel Kalweit (West Barnstable, MA) and Ingrid Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden) scored less than three minutes apart to open the second half to led the Pioneers to victory. Senior Leslie Konsig (Millburn, NJ) faced 13 shots needing to make three saves in earning the win and shutout. The two teams will face-off again but this time on a neutral pitch with all the tournament games being played at Robert Morris in Moon Township, PA.

Offensively, the Pioneers have spread the wealth around this year. Kalweit led the Pioneers in scoring with 13 points on the year. She also led the team with three assists and tied with senior Paula Pineda (Vigo, Spain) for the team lead in goals with five apiece. Pineda was second on the squad with 11 points. Juniors Nathalie Urbas (Pickering, Ontario) and Ashleigh Bepko (Guilford, CT) had three and two goals, respectively, on the year. SHU's got offensive contributions from all over the field this year with nine different players finding the back of the net at least once and 12 players recording at least a two points on the year. Freshman Lisa Burbige (Babylon, NY) and senior Jill Bizeau (Suffield, CT) can also give the Pioneers viable scoring options.

Konsig put up outstanding numbers once again in goal, posting a stingy 0.63 goals against average with 101 saves on the year. Her 10 shutouts ties her own school record and increases her career record total to 33. She played all but 14:01 minutes on the year, earning all of Sacred Heart's nine wins. She along with seniors Erika Harrysson (Stockholm, Sweden) and Colleen Attard (Bayport, NY) and freshmen Karin Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden) and Randi Quaglia (Manchester, CT) anchored a Sacred Heart defense that was one of the top teams in the league. SHU allowed just 0.62 goals per game on the year.

If the Pioneers advance, the will face the winner of the CCSU and Monmouth game. SHU beat Monmouth on the road this year, 2-0, and fell to Central at home, 1-0 in overtime. The Blue Devils ousted the Pioneers from last year's tournament with a 1-0 win on their home field.

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