Rogers nets first career goal

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (October 6, 2011) – Three goals in a span of 5:35 late in the second half were not enough to rally the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team from a 4-0 deficit on Thursday afternoon, as the Ravens ultimately fell to No. 5 nationally ranked Merrimack, 5-3, in Northeast-10 Conference play at Martone-Mejail Field. Sophomore back Jessica Rogers (Uxbridge, Mass.) scored her first career goal in the game for Franklin Pierce.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-7 (2-2 Northeast-10), while Merrimack improves to 12-1 (6-0 Northeast-10).

The first half of the game was all Merrimack, as the Warriors hemmed the Ravens into their own end for much of the stanza, chalking up a 20-5 shots advantage and a 7-1 edge in penalty corners along the way. Junior midfielder Jen Otis broke the ice 15:07 into the first half, when she found the back of the net from the top of the circle. The Warriors would make it 2-0 just 7:16 later, when junior midfielder Katie Zubkus picked up an unassisted goal of her own. Senior forward Sarah Salatto capped the three-goal first half for Merrimack by finishing off a cross from junior forward April Daugherty with 2:13 to play before halftime.

Initially, it appeared to be more of the same coming out of halftime, as Merrimack made it 4-0 just 2:51 into the second period when Zubkus put home a rebound for her second goal of the game. However, from there, the Franklin Pierce attack came alive, as the Ravens enjoyed a 10-6 advantage in shots over the remaining 32:09 of the contest.

The Raven offense would break up the shutout with 6:34 to play in the second half. After a shot from the right side was saved by the goalkeeper, the ball dropped to Rogers out in front of the left post. Rogers buried the ball in the empty cage to score the first goal of her career.

Merrimack briefly reclaimed the four-goal edge 2:18 later, when Daugherty completed her three-point afternoon by finishing a pass from junior midfielder Jamie Spano.

About a minute after the Daugherty goal, the Ravens found the back of the cage again to make it 5-2. Amidst a scramble in the middle of the circle, sophomore forward Chanelle Letarte (Lunenburg, Mass.) found the ball and set it into the net to score her fourth goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce narrowed the gap to 5-3 with 59 seconds remaining on a similar play, this time with junior midfielder Megan Bird (Laconia, N.H.) digging out the ball and notching her first goal of the season. With the margin now only two goals, the Ravens pulled their goalkeeper for the remainder of the contest, in hopes of generating some quick offense. Ultimately, they would run out of time however, as Merrimack escaped with the 5-3 win.

In the end, the three goals was the most an offense had managed against Merrimack through the first 13 games of 2011.

Senior goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro, Mass.) made 11 saves against 16 shots sent her way, but suffered the loss (4-5) in front of the net for Franklin Pierce. Junior goalkeeper Kerri Bergquist started and stopped four of the five shots on her cage to pick up the win (12-1) for Merrimack before departing shortly after the first Franklin Pierce goal. Freshman Gina Rosinski made one save against three shots over the final 6:09 of the game.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Oct. 8, when they return home to host Massachusetts Lowell in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).