Jan. 22, 2004

FAIRFIELD, CT (January 22, 2004) - The 2003 Sacred Heart women's soccer team finished the year with a 10-5-4 overall record and a third-straight trip to the Northeast Conference Tournament where they fell to defending champion Central Connecticut in the championship game on penalty kicks. Despite the disappointing end to the season, head coach Joe Barroso and his players can take pride in the fact that they have earned their best finish ever in the NCAA final RPI rankings.

The Pioneers were ranked 99th out of 294 teams at the Division I level of play. Sacred Heart was among five teams in the state of Connecticut to be ranked in the top-100 by the NCAA, who publishes the rankings at the end of each season. The University of Connecticut, Central Connecticut, Hartford and Yale join SHU among the elite women's soccer program's in the country.

"This is a great accomplishment for our program," stated Barroso. "This marks the first time we have been ranked in the top-100 and puts us among the top-five programs in the state of Connecticut."

"We have seen the benefits in recruiting as we attract better student athletes each year," commented the head coach. "We can compete with the top-schools when it comes to recruiting. And no longer do we have to go out and search for schools to play us."

Sacred Heart entered this season with a blend of experience, youth and tremendous goalkeeping that had the Pioneers eyeing a run at their second NEC title in three years. Although they fell short of that goal, the season was filled with many success stories. Seniors Paula Pineda (Vigo, Spain) and Leslie Konsig (Millburn, NJ) finished their careers earning their fourth-straight appearances on the All-NEC team.

Pineda also earned 2003 National Soccer Association of America Northeast Region All-America Third Team honors after a stellar career where she finished with 25 goals, 10 assists and 60 points while playing every game over four years. Konsig was once again a stonewall in goal for the Pioneers, closing her career holding almost every Sacred Heart goalkeeping record. She allowed just 11 goals this season and led the conference with 12 shutouts and a 0.56 goals against average. For her outstanding efforts in 2003, Konsig was named to the New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) All-New England Second Team.

Offensively, the Pioneers spread the wealth around this year. Junior Christel Kalweit (West Barnstable, MA) led the Pioneers in scoring with 13 points on the year. She also led the team with three assists and tied with Pineda 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.

Defensively, Konsig led the way along with fellow seniors Erika Harrysson (Stockholm, Sweden) and Colleen Attard (Bayport, NY). Freshmen Karin Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden) anchored a Sacred Heart defense that was one of the top teams in the league and for her efforts earned second team All-NEC honors. SHU allowed just 0.62 goals per game on the year.

Despite the losses of key players such as Pineda, Konsig, Harrysson and Attard, Sacred Heart welcomes back a wealth of talent all over the field that has them primed for another run at the NEC title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament field.

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