Pirates Eye Postseason Berth in Finale
11/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 2, 2013
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's soccer team wraps up its regular season this afternoon in that nation's capital as the Pirates will take on #15/#9 Georgetown at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C.
The Hall enters the contest at 5-10-2 overall and 3-5-0 in the conference after a hard-fought, 1-0 loss at St. John's a week ago. SHU stands on nine points, the seventh-highest total in the league and just one point behind Villanova - whom the Pirates handled 5-0 in a head-to-head matchup - for the final BIG EAST Championship qualifying spot.
Georgetown's 6-1-1 mark in league play is second to only regular season champions Marquette (8-0-0), and three points ahead of DePaul (5-2-1) in third. After the top-three, there are four teams within three points of each other as much of the postseason picture is left to be decided today.
Seton Hall will be looking to reverse its fortunes away from home as the team has seen four-straight road matches end in one-goal defeats and has endured six one-goal losses as visitors this season.
Despite the 1-0 result last weekend in Queens, SHU enters the day with the fourth-best goal differential (+3) among all BIG EAST teams in league play. Seniors Ashley Clarke (Paramus, N.J.) and Katie Ritter (Hagerstown, Md.) will be key in the squad's attacking efforts as they have been through all four years of their respective careers as the Pirates attempt to crack a Hoya back line that is allowing only 1.00 goals/game in BIG EAST competition and 0.50 goals/game against league opponents at home.
Ritter ranks seventh in the conference with 43 shots on the year and has tied career-highs with seven goals (t-fifth in the BIG EAST) and 15 points, both of which she previously set as a BIG EAST All-Rookie Team selection in 2010.
Her 23 career goals and 50 career points both rank third in school history.
Clarke is tied for fourth in the league with seven assists in 2013, one shy of her career-high and single-season school record of eight. She shares the single-season mark with all-time great Kelly Smith and trails only Smith on the career assists list as well; having recorded 19 as a Pirate.
Senior keeper Jennifer Pettigrew (Kearny, N.J.) will look to help end GU's three-game winning streak and slow a Hoya attack that ranks first in the BIG EAST with 24 goals in conference play. Pettigrew stands fourth in the league with 70 saves in 17 appearances and is also tied for sixth with four clean sheets.
One of the most accomplished keepers in program history, Pettigrew ranks fourth all-time with 253 saves and 10 shutouts in a Seton Hall uniform.
Underclassmen Melissa Blevins (Laurel Springs, N.J.), Cathy Chukuka (Marlboro, N.J.) and D'Yonna Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) join junior Kristina Meier (Paramus, N.J.) in a stout SHU back four that has allowed the third-fewest goals over the first eight conference games (7). Further still, the Pirates have only given up more than one goal a single time in BIG EAST play, a 2-1 loss at Xavier on October 12.
Seton Hall will likely need to limit the touches and space for GU standout Daphne Corboz to work with as the junior midfielder leads the conference with 13 assists and ranks second with 25 points despite only making 12 appearances to this point in the season.
Seton Hall and Georgetown will be meeting for the 20th time in series history with GU holding a slim 9-8-2 all-time advantage after a home victory last season. In the Hoyas last trip to South Orange, Ritter scored twice to help the Pirates pull out a 3-2 overtime victory in thrilling fashion, scoring three points that helped them advance to the 2011 BIG EAST Championship.
With all 10 BIG EAST teams in action today a postseason berth remains very much in play for the Pirates. Current #6 seed Villanova (6-8-3, 3-4-1) hosts Providence (5-9-3, 2-6-0) while current #5 seed St. John's (9-4-3, 3-3-2) welcomes DePaul (11-3-2, 5-2-1) to town in its final contest of the regular season.
Butler (11-5-2, 4-4-0), entering the day on 12 points and in fourth in the league standings, faces a stiff test at #14/#7 Marquette (15-3-0, 8-0-0). Seventh-place Creighton (9-7-1, 2-5-1) wraps up with a home date with Xavier (8-8-1, 1-7-0).
Start-time between the Pirates and Hoyas is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Follow @SetonHallsoccer on Twitter for live in-game updates.
