Freshman Kevin Dargin logged three goals for the second time in the last three games for the Ravens

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (March 24, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team couldn't overcome a slow start on Saturday and had its two-game winning streak snapped in a 20-7 loss at No. 5 nationally ranked Adelphi in Garden City, N.Y. The Ravens fell to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Northeast-10, while the Panthers improved to 5-1 and 1-1 in league play.

The Panthers pumped in the first 12 goals of the game, including 10 in the first quarter and never looked back in rebounding from a tough 9-6 loss to Le Moyne last week. Seven different Panthers scored two goals apiece, while Joe Vitale and Michael Rossi each added a pair of assists to total four-point afternoons. Eric Janssen started in goal for Adelphi and stopped six shots to earn the victory.

Freshman attackman Kevin Dargin (Littleton, Mass.) threw in a game-high three goals for the Ravens as it marked the second time in the last three games he registered a hat-trick. Dargin has also notched multiple points in each of his first five collegiate games. 

Sophomore midfielder Eddie Noonan (Foxboro, Mass.) registered three points on the afternoon as he scored a pair of goals and assisted on another. Senior middie Jimmy McInnis (Amherst, N.H.) fired off a team-best six shots and logged three points with a goal and two helpers.

Freshman Don Denman (Exeter, N.H.) got the start in goal and suffered the loss after yielding 10 goals in 13:56 of action.

Adelphi scored 13 seconds into the game on a Greg Puskuldjian marker and the Panthers added another tally 62 seconds later when Rossi dumped in the first of his two goals. The Panthers closed out the first period with three man-up goals in the final minute and held a commanding 10-0 advantage.

Franklin Pierce finally got on the board a little more than three minutes into the second quarter when junior attacker Brendan Cahill (Hollis, N.H.) put in an unassisted man-up goal. It was part of Franklin Pierce's strong 4-for-4 effort in man-up opportunities on the day.

Vitale answered for the Panthers nearly two minutes later with a tally, but Noonan responded 90 seconds later with his first goal of the contest. Adelphi, though, closed out the half by scoring three-straight goals and taking a 16-2 advantage into the locker room.

The Panthers scored in the opening two minutes of the second half to extend their lead to 17-2, but the Ravens settled things down and scored three-consecutive markers to cap the third quarter. McInnis scored at 10:58 off a nice feed from Noonan, and the senior responded with an assist of his own 90 seconds later when he sent a pass over to Dargin, who buried a man-up goal. Dargin scored his second goal of the game with 3:03 left in the third off a pass from sophomore Baxter Sukdolak (Lockport, N.Y.).

The teams traded goal-for-goal in the fourth quarter, including the Ravens putting in two more man-up tallies, including one from Dargin at 11:48 and another from Noonan at 10:02.
Adelphi held a commanding 20-10 advantage in faceoffs and a 28-13 edge in ground balls.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday when the Ravens travel to North Andover, Mass. to face Merrimack in a 4 p.m. tilt.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men's lacrosse, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens).