WORCESTER, Mass. (October 27, 2017) – With the season likely hanging in the balance, the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team struggled to generate offense in the first half on Friday night at Multi-Sport Stadium, but the defense held strong through to halftime. After surrendering an early second-half goal, the Ravens began to get things going offensively, but never could solve Assumption junior goalkeeper Sarah Bodzinski. Instead, Bodzinski and the Greyhounds' defense made a 38^th-minute goal from freshman midfielder Deirdre Burchill hold up, as Assumption dealt Franklin Pierce a 1-0 defeat in a pivotal Northeast-10 Conference contest.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 10-7 (7-5 NE10), while Assumption improves to 10-8 (7-5 NE10). The Greyhounds clinched their spot in next week's NE10 Championship with the victory.

For Franklin Pierce, the postseason arithmetic is simple, though certainly not pleasing. On Saturday evening, Adelphi -- which has already been eliminated from postseason contention -- will travel to take on Merrimack at 6 p.m. at Warrior Stadium in North Andover, Mass. It will be a win-or-go-home situation for Merrimack, which will advance to the NE10 Championship with a victory. An Adelphi win would allow Franklin Pierce to lay claim to the sixth and final seed in the tournament.

On Friday night in The City of the Seven Hills, it was the Ravens who seemed to be running uphill during the first half. Franklin Pierce spent much of the opening 35 minutes pinned in its own end, as Assumption chalked up advantages of 5-2 in shot attempts, 3-0 in shots on goal and 4-0 in penalty corners in the stanza. The defense held strong for the crimson and grey though, and three saves from senior goalkeeper Meaghan Williams (Salem, N.H.) ensured the game would head to halftime still scoreless.

Assumption struck quickly on the other side of the intermission, just 2:56 into the second half. Senior forward Allison Sheahan provided the pass across the middle of the circle, and Burchill banged a shot into the left corner of the cage for her fifth goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce earned its first corner of the night less than two minutes after the goal and finally began to find its own offensive footing from there forward. Though the Ravens came up empty on their initial corner chance, the team was not without significant scoring opportunities the rest of the way.

The Ravens earned five successive corner attempts shortly after the game ticked inside its final 10 minutes. Arguably Franklin Pierce's best chance of the entire night came off the third corner opportunity of the stretch. The Ravens worked the ball on the left side for sophomore midfielder Jessica Greeley (Winslow, Maine), but her shot was turned aside by Bodzinski. Senior forward Carly Canavan (Kingston, N.Y.), who had inserted the corner, wound up in a battle for the ball in the goalmouth, but could not find a handle to slip the ball past Bodzinski.

The final corner of the night for Franklin Pierce came with just over one minute to play, but he Ravens could not put a credible threat on target, as Assumption came away with the tightly-contested, 1-0 win. The final stat line stood nearly even across the board, with Assumption holding advantages of 9-7 in shot attempts and 5-3 in shots on goal, and Franklin Pierce holding a 7-5 edge in penalty corners. Perhaps the decisive stat of the night was the 0-for-7 posted by the Ravens on their second-half corner attempts.

Williams (10-7) finished with four saves against five shots on goal and suffered the loss in net for Franklin Pierce. Bodzinski (8-8) stopped all three shots on her cage to pick up the win for Assumption.

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).