FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After a 5-0 Northeast Conference first-round victory over #6 LIU on Sunday, #3 Sacred Heart women's soccer will take on #2 Merrimack in a NEC semifinal on the road on Thursday, November 3rd at 7 PM .
 
LIVE STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES 

RECORDS
#3 Sacred Heart: 10-5-4, 5-1-3 NEC
#2 Merrimack: 8-7-3, 6-2-1 NEC
 
 THE MATCHUP 

• During the regular season, Sacred Heart won 4-0 at home. 
• SHU had four different goal scorers in the win and goalkeeper Elyssa Kipperman made four saves for the shutout. 
• The Pioneers are 4-0 all-time against Merrimack. 

 PIOS IN POSTSEASON

• Sacred Heart won its first home NEC postseason tournament game on Sunday, 5-0.
• The win against LIU in the first round marked the first postseason victory at Sacred Heart for Head Coach Matt Micros.
• Last season, the Pioneers fell 5-3 in the NEC semifinal to FDU. 
• SHU has won one NEC Championship in 2001 as the #4 seed, defeating UMBC 1-0 on the road at SFU. 
• Sacred Heart's highest regular-season finish was #2 in 2003. 
• The last championship appearance was in 2007.

 All-NEC 

• Kipperman was named the NEC Defensive Player and Goalkeeper of the Year. She is the only player in NEC history to earn both awards in the same season. 
• First-year Morgan Bovardi was named the NEC Rookie of the Year.
• Seniors Nichol Green, Alexis Sickler, and Kipperman were placed on the All-NEC first team.
• Senior Anna Ludkiewicz eanred a spot on the All-NEC second team.
• First years Laurene Jordan and Bovardi were placed on the NEC All-Rookie team. 

 ROOKIE SEASON

• After being named NEC Rookie of the Week four times this season (10/17, 10/3, 9/26, 8/29), Bovardi took home the NEC Rookie of the Year honor. 
• She is tied for the team-lead in points with seven goals and two assists. 
• Tied for third in the NEC for goals and is third in the conference in shots on goal. 

TOP PIOS

• Bovardi and sophomore Grace O'Hara are tied for a team-leading 16 points with seven goals and two assists each.
• Senior Desiree Crawford is third on the team in points (12) with five goals and two assists.
• O'Hara has a team-leading three game-winning goals this season.
• Graduate student goalkeeper Elyssa Kipperman (10-5-4) has played every minute of every regular season game and has recorded nine shutouts with 88 saves this season.

 TEAM NOTABLES

• The Pioneers had an eight-game unbeaten streak that ran from September 8th through October 6th. FDU snapped the streak on October 9th. 
• Sacred Heart ended the regular season with a 1-1 tie with Central Connecticut. 
• Kipperman (10-5-4) has played every minute of every game in the regular season and has recorded nine shutouts this season. She leads the NEC with a .745 GAA, saves (88) and shutouts per game .474. 
• O'Hara and Bovardi are tied for third in the conference in goals with seven each. 
• Desiree Crawford (12pts/5 goals), O'Hara (16pts/ 7 goals), and Bovardi (16 pts/7 goals) are all in the top-10 in points and goals in the NEC. 
• SHU has allowed the fewest goals this season in the conference (14) and is first in the NEC in goals scored (29). 
• The Pioneers finished the regular season with a 9-5-4 overall record and a 5-1-3 NEC record.