Canavan scores in first half

RINDGE, N.H. (October 29, 2014) – Sophomore midfielder Kenady Kelly (Plymouth, N.H.) sent a shot through traffic and to the back of the cage just 6:25 into the second half on a dreary Wednesday afternoon to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team to a 2-1 win over Bentley in Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field. Junior midfielder Becca Moore scored the lone goal in defeat for Bentley.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 6-7 (3-3 Northeast-10) and has won four of its last five, while Bentley falls to 6-7 (2-4 Northeast-10). The Ravens ended a run of four straight Bentley wins in meetings between the two teams.

Franklin Pierce controlled the tempo and took the game to the Falcons from the get-go on Wednesday afternoon. Over the course of 70 minutes, the Ravens would amass advantages of 16-9 in shot attempts, 12-6 in shots on goal and 10-4 in penalty corners.

The Ravens opened the scoring in the 28th minute, after senior midfielder Brittany Lepore (Barnstable, Mass.) collected the ball with space on the left-wing side. As Lepore approached the edge of the circle, she sent a pass towards the middle, connecting with freshman forward Carly Canavan (Kingston, N.Y.) about 10 yards in from goal, outside the left post. Canavan was immediately hassled by a defender, but stayed strong on the ball, found a shooting lane and beat Bentley junior goalkeeper Katie Kelley inside the right post. For Canavan, it was her sixth goal of the season, giving her sole possession of the team lead.

Bentley answered less than four minutes later to level the game at 1-1 in the 32nd minute, with just 3:19 remaining before halftime. In the aftermath of an unsuccessful penalty corner for the Falcons, the ball came back outside the top of the circle to sophomore midfielder Tori Ellis. Ellis stepped back into the circle and took a shot which was turned aside by Franklin Pierce freshman goalkeeper Meaghan Williams (Salem, N.H.), but the rebound stayed in the middle of the circle. Moore was the first on the scene for Bentley, corralled the ball 10 yards out and slotted a shot inside the right post for her fourth goal of the campaign.

The game stayed 1-1 through halftime, but the Ravens wasted no time applying pressure coming out of the intermission. Early in the stanza, Franklin Pierce earned three consecutive penalty corners, the last of which came in the 42nd minute. The offense put shots on-cage from all three corners, though Kelley turned aside both sophomore midfielder Andrea Fahey (Hudson, Mass.) and Lepore on the first two attempts, respectively.

The third time proved the charm, as sophomore midfielder Shannon O'Leary (Florence, Mass.) injected the corner to Fahey at the top of the circle. The latter stopped the service and dished the ball off to the left, while the former cut out in front of the left post. The timing of the play was important, as Fahey's pass left went to a waiting Kelly, and O'Leary crossed through Kelly's shooting lane as the latter sent her shot towards goal. The screen proved effective, as both O'Leary and the defender trailing her prevented Kelley from getting a clean look at the shot, which stayed low, beat Kelley and thudded against the backboard for the game's final score.

Bentley turned up the heat in the game's waning minutes and earned a pair of penalty corners in the final five minutes. The Falcons ran both plays for senior forward Gina Lirange, but neither of her shot attempts found the target, and the Ravens came away with the 2-1 win.

Williams finished with five saves against six shots on goal to pick up the win (6-7) in front of the cage for Franklin Pierce. Kelley piled up 10 saves against 12 shots on goal, but was stuck with the loss (2-6) in goal for Bentley.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Nov. 1, when they remain home to host Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 1 p.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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce field hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).