Date Posted: 11/2/2005

Boiling Springs, N.C. - Varsity Field will be the site, as the first A-Sun team will punch their ticket to the NCAA College Cup at the 2005 Atlantic Sun Championship hosted by Gardner-Webb University on November 3-5.

Unbeaten Florida Atlantic enters as the favorite, but will face a strong challenge from five contenders. The Owls are led by a suffocating defense that does not allow many shots per game much less goals. Behind the goalkeeping duo of Megan Coyne and Jessica Badders, FAU leads the nation in shutout percentage and ranks fifth in goals against average. Coyne’s miniscule 0.11 GAA is tops in the NCAA. It is not just the goalkeeping as the rest of the defensive unit is allowing just over seven shots per game. Sophomore Susanna Lehtinen leads the offensive attack with 10 goals and 10 assists. The Owls did not lose a conference match this season

The winner between fourth-seeded Jacksonville and fifth-seeded ETSU will face FAU in the semifinals. Jacksonville tied FAU 2-2 earlier in the year and newcomer ETSU narrowly missed upsetting the Owls 1-0 in their final A-Sun match. The freshman tandem of Keri Zwikker and Michelle Lavine paces the Dolphins offense. Zwikker scored a league-best 14 goals while Lavine accumulated 17 assists during the season to rank fourth in the NCAA. ETSU is the third highest-scoring team in the Atlantic Sun Conference, averaging 2.00 goals per game, but was held at bay by the Dolphins in a 2-1 loss earlier in the season.

Defending champion Campbell as well as host Gardner-Webb and red-hot Stetson (four straight wins) wait on the opposite side of the bracket. Campbell overcame the loss of the bulk of their 2004 starting lineup to graduation. Seven of the team’s 10 conference matches were decided by a single goal or finished in a tie. Young and old pace the offensive attack for the Camels as senior Susan Persson and freshman Amanda Murphy lead the team in scoring with four goals each. Gardner-Webb is 6-0-2 in their last eight games at Varsity Field and has outscored the opposition 22-4 over that stretch. Forward Leeanna Woodworth (10 g/9 a) and goalkeeper Corinne Razem (1.34 GAA, 93 svs) give the hosts a great chance to make the most of their home field advantage. Only FAU is hotter than sixth-seeded Stetson. Three weeks ago, the Hatters were winless in the league, but a four-match winning streak propelled them into the conference championship. Forward Kelly Kuenning scored a pair of game-winning goals to secure the final two victories and run her team-best total to five on the season while goalie April Eilering has posted three shutouts in her last four matches.

Check www.atlanticsun.org for championship coverage throughout the week.

Related Links:
 • Match-Up Capsules
 • Postseason Awards