Jones nets hat trick to lead the Ravens to their second straight NE-10 victory

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (September 29, 2001) - The Franklin Pierce University Women's field hockey team captured their second straight Northeast-10 Conference win, as they defeated Southern Connecticut State by a score of 3-2 this afternoon.

FPC's Debbie Jones (Escondido, Calif./Bishops) helped the Ravens jump out to an early one goal lead as she scored on a pass from teammate Erin Sykes (West Windsor, Vt./Windsor) at the 5:54 mark of the first half.

The Owls answered at the 26:36 mark of the first half when Renee Mazzerella put one past netminder, Kasey McClements (Ashland, Mass./Ashland), to knot the score 1-1.

The Ravens immediately took the lead back at the 2:10 mark of the second half when Sykes once again fed Jones in front of the Owls' net to put the Ravens back up by one. Jones completed the afternoon scoring what would prove to be the game-winner and her second career hat trick after being set up by teammate Chrystean Page (Turner, Maine/Leavitt) at the 5:55 mark of the second half.

The Owls attempted a comeback at the 21:08 mark of the second half when Alicia Johnson scored an unassisted tally to bring Southern Connecticut within one goal. The Ravens held off the SCSU attack, however, to make the final -- FP 3, Southern Connecticut State 2.

FP tandem goalkeepers shared duty in net this afternoon, with McClements making two saves in 35 minutes of play, and Irene Smith (Olivebridge, N.Y./Onteora) grabbing four saves in 35 minutes of work. SCSU's Sarah Dube made 13 saves for the Owls.

Jones became the only field hockey player in FP history to score a hat trick last year when she tallied three goals on October 23, against Saint Joseph's.

The Ravens (4-6, 3-1 NE-10) return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 2 when they face an undefeated Bentley College squad on their home turf at 4 p.m.