Canavan, Burnell each score twice

RINDGE, N.H. (September 9, 2015) – With heat lightning sparkling in the distance to the east, the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team provided some energy of its own at the south end of Sodexo Field in the second half on Wednesday night. Senior forward Chelsey Burnell (Porter, Maine) scored twice, sandwiched around the second of the night for freshman forward Carly Canavan (Kingston, N.Y.), as the Ravens used three unanswered goals to turn a 3-1 halftime deficit into a 4-3 win over Southern Connecticut State in non-conference play.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-0 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Southern Connecticut State falls to 1-2 (0-0 Northeast-10). For Franklin Pierce, it marked the first-ever 3-0 start in program history.

Trailing 3-1 after a lackluster first half, the Ravens halved the deficit in a hurry in the second half, as Burnell struck for her second of the season just 3:56 into the stanza. After being denied twice by SCSU senior goalkeeper Audrey Dolloff, Franklin Pierce junior forward Andrea Fahey (Hudson, Mass.) found herself with the ball outside the top of the circle on the right-wing side. Fahey wound and drove the ball towards the cage, while Burnell cut in front of the goal, and the latter was able to deflect the shot inside the right post to cut the gap to 3-2.

Less than 10 minutes later, it was Canavan -- who had scored in the first half as well -- who found the back of the goal to level the game at 3-3. The heavy lifting on the play was done by sophomore forward Erin Smith (Templeton, Mass.), who gained possession just behind the midfield stripe, with Canavan already on the run goal-ward. Smith sent a long ball beyond the final defender, which Canavan was able to get on the other end of, creating a breakaway. Once in the circle, Dolloff came out to challenge, Canavan deked around her and put the ball inside the left post to tie things up.

SCSU burned its timeout after the Canavan equalizer, and the Owls were able to stem the tide momentarily with the game locked at 3-3. The game-winner ultimately came from Burnell in the 59th minute. In the aftermath of Franklin Pierce's second straight penalty corner, junior forward Rachel Deneault (Holden, Mass.) took a shot from the middle of the circle which was blocked by the defense and skittered off to the right side. The SCSU back on the scene tried to clear, but went up the middle with the ball and didn't get enough on it. Senior midfielder Natalia Bachelder (South Berwick, Maine) stepped into the path of the clearance and one-timed a reverse-stick pass across the circle to the front of the left post. Burnell was in the vicinity and, with Dolloff beaten by the pass, was able to reach out and shovel the ball into the cage while falling down to put the Ravens out front.

Immediately after taking the lead, the Franklin Pierce defense was subjected to five consecutive SCSU corners in a span of less than three minutes, as the Owls furiously searched for the equalizer. Sophomore goalkeeper Meaghan Williams (Salem, N.H.) made two saves in the sequence, but the best chance for SCSU came from junior midfielder Zoe Fanolis. The corner play initially went right, but then worked back to Fanolis, a few feet inside the top of the circle, just to the left-wing side of center. Fanolis had a shooting lane from there, let fly, and appeared to have Williams beat, but the shot whistled just wide outside the left post. It would stand as the final threat of the day for SCSU, as the Ravens were then able to clear and wind the final minutes off the clock.

Earlier, SCSU had jumped to a quick 2-0 lead, as junior forward Bailey McGinnis scored unassisted in the 15th minute and Fanolis followed with her first of the season -- assisted by sophomore forward Emma Farrel -- in the 18th minute. Franklin Pierce cut the gap to 2-1 on Canavan's third of the season in the 26th minute, as she banged home a rebound at the left post. SCSU took a 3-1 lead into halftime on Fanolis' second of the game in the 29th minute, which came on a rebound as well.

After each team produced eight shot attempts in the first half, Franklin Pierce turned up the heat with a 15-8 advantage in the second half, though SCSU earned 10 of the second half's 14 corners.

Williams (3-0) piled up nine saves against 12 shots on goal to pick up the win in net for Franklin Pierce. Dolloff (1-2) made 11 saves of her own, against 15 shots on goal, but ultimately took the loss.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 12, when they travel to Mercy for a non-conference contest. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. at Mercy Field in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

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 can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).