Trainor adds assist

MANCHESTER, N.H. (September 17, 2013) – Senior back Jess Rogers (Uxbridge, Mass.) had a goal and an assist in the second half on Tuesday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force overtime, before ultimately falling at Saint Anselm in non-conference play at Grappone Stadium. Senior forward Elizabeth Sears scored twice, including the overtime winner, for Saint Anselm.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-3 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Saint Anselm improves to 2-2 (0-1 Northeast-10). The two teams will meet for their Northeast-10 Conference contest on Oct. 29 in Rindge. It was the second straight game between the two teams which went to overtime, as the Ravens picked up a 1-0 win in Manchester on Oct. 2 last season. The win was the first for the Hawks over Franklin Pierce since Oct. 8, 2008 in Rindge, as the Ravens had taken each of the previous seven games between the two clubs.

With the game tied 2-2, Sears struck for her second goal of the day just 3:57 into overtime to lift the Hawks to the victory. The game-winning goal came on Sears' fourth shot attempt of the overtime alone, as she uncorked eight of Saint Anselm's 13 shot attempts on the day.

In the second minute of overtime, she was stuffed twice in quick succession by Franklin Pierce freshman goalkeeper Amy Zahensky (Bow, N.H.). About 40 seconds before the game-winning goal, Saint Anselm earned a penalty corner and set up Sears for another attempt to win the game, but this time the shot whistled wide outside the left post to keep the game going momentarily. However, the Franklin Pierce defense failed to clear the ball from the defensive end after the shot went out of bounds, and a breakdown resulted in Sears finding the ball with space to shoot from the middle of the circle. This time she didn't miss, as she drove the ball inside the right post to end the game.

Earlier in the day, Sears' younger sister, Colleen, a sophomore forward, opened the scoring with the first half's only goal, with 5:11 to play before halftime. Amidst a scrum in front of the cage, she was the first to track down the ball and put it into the right side of the cage for her first goal of the season. She became the first Saint Anselm player to score a goal in 2013 other than Elizabeth Sears.

The older half of the sister act made it 2-0 in favor of Saint Anselm 7:21 into the second half, as Elizabeth Sears put away her fourth of the campaign. She was awarded a free hit outside the top of the circle and caught the Franklin Pierce defense flat-footed when she quickly self-started on the restart. The resulting play gave her a partial breakaway down the middle of the circle. Zahensky made the first stop, but the defense couldn't recover in time to clear the ball and Sears slotted the rebound to the back of the cage.

The Franklin Pierce offense became more potent after the second Saint Anselm goal, as the Ravens got on the board 7:30 later. As the Saint Anselm backline attempted to shut down the initial attack off a penalty corner, it failed to effectively clear the defensive end, as Rogers corralled the ball at the top of the circle. She slipped the ball off to the left to junior midfielder Taylor Libby (Sidney, Maine), who put the ball inside the left post for her first goal of the season, as well as her first score since the 2012 season opener.

The Ravens continued to force the issue after the Libby goal, as they searched for another score to tie things up. Senior forward Chanelle Letarte (Lunenburg, Mass.) narrowly missed out on tracking down the back end of a 2-on-1 inside the circle and slammed her stick on the ground in frustration afterwards. Shortly after, Letarte would get a shot off on a play during a penalty corner, but Saint Anselm sophomore goalkeeper Shauna Whittemore turned it aside.

The aftermath of the save earned Franklin Pierce another penalty corner, and this time the Ravens cashed in to tie the game. Off the injection, the ball was sent to sophomore midfielder Erin Trainor (Auburn, Mass.) on the left side, and she dished it over to Rogers at the top of the circle. Rogers pushed a shot along the ground, which somehow snuck its way through a mass of bodies inside the circle and slipped inside the right post for Rogers' second goal of the season. After the final 12:30 of regulation went without further scoring, the Rogers goal effectively forced overtime, setting the stage for Elizabeth Sears' game-winner.

Though both of Franklin Pierce's goals in the game came as a result of penalty corner plays, the Ravens came away with only the two scores to show for their 14 corner attempts in the game. Perhaps more alarmingly, Franklin Pierce generated only four shots on goal as a result of its 14 corner plays. Though, the same could be said of the Saint Anselm offense, which scored only once and generated only three shots on goal off 11 corner attempts. In all, on the day, Saint Anselm held a 13-10 edge in shot attempts, including an 8-7 advantage in shots on goal.

Zahensky made five saves on the afternoon and suffered the loss (1-3), while Whittemore made five saves as well to pick up the win (2-2).

The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, Sept. 19, when they return home to host Saint Michael's in a non-conference contest. Game time is set for 4 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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce field hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).