Cote makes eight saves

RINDGE, N.H. (September 6, 2012) – Sophomore forward Courtney Kelly (Plymouth, N.H.) finished off a 2-on-1 break with freshman forward Sara Michaels (Goshen, Conn.) with 2:45 to play in the second overtime on Thursday night to give the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team a 2-1 win over Assumption in non-conference play at Sodexo Field. The win was the 100th career victory for Head Coach Meighan Guiney, who won 56 games at Worcester State from 2001-05, and now has 44 wins at Franklin Pierce since 2006.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 2-0 (0-0 Northeast-10), with both of its victories coming in overtime. With the loss, Assumption falls to 0-4 (0-0 Northeast-10). The two teams will play their Northeast-10 Conference contest on Oct. 20 at Assumption, the final game of the regular season.

With time beginning to wind down in the second overtime and the possibility of a shootout looming over the proceedings, Michaels forced a turnover near midfield and sprung herself and Kelly on a 2-on-1 breakaway headed for the Assumption circle. Michaels held the ball long enough to draw the lone defender towards her, but not so long that she couldn't slip a pass to Kelly, who was now all alone in front of the cage. Kelly would not let the opportunity pass, one-timing the ball to the back of the cage for her first goal of the season to give Franklin Pierce its second overtime victory in three days.

Earlier in the game, the first half went almost entirely without incident, as Franklin Pierce held a 4-2 advantage in shot attempts at halftime, though neither team could muster much in the way of a legitimate scoring opportunity.

Nearly 20 minutes would run off the clock in the second half before the Ravens were finally able to open the scoring. Sophomore midfielder Taylor Libby (Sidney, Maine) injected the ball on a penalty corner and sent it to senior midfielder Megan Bird (Laconia, N.H.) at the top of the circle. Bird laid the ball off to her right to junior midfielder Jessica Rogers (Uxbridge, Mass.), who drew a defender towards her and then slipped the ball back to Bird. Bird now had space to work with, wound and fired to score her first goal of the season with 16:08 to play in regulation.

Assumption would tie the game with just 4:20 to play in the second half to force overtime. Sophomore forward Paige Anderson took possession of the ball on the right side of the circle and made her way close to the penalty spot. She found herself in heavy traffic and appeared to touch the ball farther away than she intended. Anderson improvised from there, unleashing a diving, backhanded shot that got the better of Franklin Pierce freshman goalkeeper Sarah Cote (Athol, Mass.) for Anderson's team-leading fourth goal of the season.

The final 4:20 of regulation, the entire 15 minutes of the first overtime and another 12 minutes in the second overtime would all go without another score, setting the stage for Kelly to send the Ravens home happy.

Cote made eight saves against nine shots on her cage to pick up the win (2-0) for Franklin Pierce. Both senior back Alyssa Juszczyk (Warren, Mass.) and sophomore back Brittany Lepore (Barnstable, Mass.) made a defensive save to aid the effort.

Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Neilan also made eight saves, against 10 Franklin Pierce shots on goal, and took the loss (0-4) for Assumption.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 8, when they remain home to host LIU Post in a non-conference contest. Game time is set for 11 a.m. at Sodexo Field.

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).