Article by Department of Athletics Student-Staff Writer Rich Rosa

Raven Standouts:
Zoe Noorlag (Amersfoort, Netherlands): 6 Saves
Cait Hazley (Kingston, MA): 4 Shots, (2 Shots on Goal)
Sliver Clukey (Winslow, ME): 3 Shots, (2 Shots on Goal)
Rebecca Philips (West Amwell, NJ): 3 Shots, (1 Shot on Goal)

SPRINGFIELD, M.A. (9/12/2023) -- The Franklin Pierce field hockey team suffered a tough loss at Abdow Field in their first road game of the 2023 season, losing to AIC 3-0.

With the win, AIC improves to (3-1, 0-0 NE-10). Franklin Pierce falls to (1-2, 0-0 NE-10) with the loss.

Early in the first quarter, Franklin Pierce controlled the momentum. The Ravens had multiple scoring chances but were unable to finish the job. The Raven's defense stood tall and did not allow the Yellow Jackets to have any scoring opportunities.

The game's first goal came in the second quarter when the Yellow Jackets drew a penalty corner in the circle. On the penalty corner, senior midfielder Brooke Szafran connected with sophomore forward Mia Wood, who fired a shot past the diving freshman Zoe Noorlag (Amersfoort, Netherlands) for Wood's first career goal with the Yellow Jackets. AIC led 1-0 at halftime.

In the third quarter the referees were busy as both teams racked up 11 fouls each. Both AIC and FPU had difficulty keeping possession of the ball, but the Yellow Jackets found ways to score when they were in the offensive zone. Five minutes into the third, freshman forward Mar Busqueta worked her way toward the middle of the field and found freshman forward Fenna Voll, who drilled the ball past Noorlag tallying Voll's first career goal with the Yellow Jackets to make it 2-0. Less than two minutes later, senior midfielder Abby Clark scored her second goal of the season on a penalty corner opportunity to make it 3-0 Yellow Jackets. AIC scored two of their three goals on penalty corners.

AIC goaltender Taylor Wildes made eight saves to capture her second shutout and third win of the season. Noorlag made six saves for Franklin Pierce in the loss.

NEXT UP FOR THE RAVENS: Franklin Pierce returns home to Sodexo Field on Friday, September 15, for their first conference game of the season against the New Haven Chargers at 6 p.m.