RINDGE, N.H. (September 23, 2018) – A spate of penalty corners in the middle of the second half proved to be the difference on Sunday afternoon at Sodexo Field. Trailing 1-0, the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team was able to generate a series of six penalty corners in the span of five minutes, but could not find the equalizer. Adelphi freshman goalkeeper Leah Savage chalked up three saves in the sequence, and the Panthers added a 64^th-minue insurance tally to deal the Ravens a 2-0 defeat in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both teams. Sophomore midfielder Danielle Kempf scored both goals for Adelphi.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-3 (0-1 NE10), while Adelphi improves to 2-3 (1-0 NE10).

Adelphi opened the scoring in the 17^th minute, on what was really the first quality scoring chance of the afternoon. On a corner play, the Panthers worked the ball to the top of the circle for sophomore forward Jackie Brown. Her drive from there was deflected en route by senior midfielder Kate Manson and may have hit the Franklin Pierce defense as well. In the end, the ball popped up in the air and fell in front of the left post. Kempf, who had taken the corner, was on the scene by then and banged the ball to the back of the cage for her second goal of the season.

Adelphi had two strong chances to extend the lead later in the half. In the 23^rd minute, senior forward Emily Power wound up with the ball at close range off the right post. Franklin Pierce sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Barnes (Greenwich, N.Y.) was narrowly able to get enough of the shot to keep it out of the cage and deflect it out of bounds instead. Then, in the 28^th minute, sophomore midfielder Alexandra Kanapes was left with a wide open shooting lane on the right side of the circle after she intercepted a failed clearing attempt. Her shot cleanly beat Barnes, but hit the left post and stayed out.

Franklin Pierce struggled to generate offense in the first half, as the home team was held to just one shot attempt and did not record a shot on goal in the first half. The Ravens began to find their stride in the second half, particularly in the aforementioned stretch of penalty corners, which spanned from the 51^st minute through the 56^th minute. Senior forward Dayna Kowesky (Leominster, Mass.), senior midfielder Raegan Moulton (Baldwinville, Mass.) and junior midfielder Allison Collins (Sandown, N.H.) all put shots on goal in the five-minute stretch, but Savage turned them all aside, including the particularly testing drive by Collins through traffic from the right side. In all, Franklin Pierce was left with nothing to show for its 10 corner attempts on the afternoon.

Kempf would later tack on an insurance marker in the 64^th minute to create the 2-0 final. Manson picked up her second assist of the day and did a lot of the heavy lifting on the play. Using some fancy stick work on the left side of the circle, Manson made her way to the end line and then centered the ball to Kempf, who was approximately six yards in front of the cage. Kempf took a couple touches, until she was in front of the right post. She then fired a shot back against her momentum, which slipped inside the left post for her second score of the day.

Barnes (3-3) finished with two saves against four shots on goal in the losing effort in the Franklin Pierce net. Savage (2-3) stopped all four shots on her goal to pick up the win and her second shutout of the season.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 29, when they travel to Pace for an NE10 contest. Game time is set for 5 p.m. at Finnerty Field in Pleasantville, N.Y.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuraves.com). 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 (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).