Casey Burnett with two goals and two assists for four points

RINDGE, N.H. (March 23, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s lacrosse team gave No. 4 nationally ranked Adelphi all it could handle on Saturday, but the Panthers used a late run in the fourth quarter to avoid an upset and a 10-5 triumph over the Ravens at Sodexo Field in Rindge. The Ravens dropped their third straight to fall to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Northeast-10, while the Panthers improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in league play.

Sophomore midfielder Kevin Dargin (Littleton, Mass.) continued his strong offensive play with six shots, including sending home a missile strike with 5:51 remaining to pull Franklin Pierce to within a goal at 5-4.

Franklin Pierce carried the play the remainder of the quarter and had a couple of opportunities to knot the score, but Adelphi goalie Aidan Bennardo – who came on in relief at the start of the third quarter – turned aside multiple shots in the closing minutes of the stanza to keep his team up a goal.

The saves sparked Adelphi early in the fourth as the Panthers began to generate offensive chances. They finally broke through with three goals in a two-and-a-half minute span to open up an 8-4 lead with 6:24 to go.

Salvatore Tuttle kick-started the surge with a goal at the 8:53 mark and Ikerson Hopper followed with a goal on an outstanding individual move around two defenders in the crease before depositing a shot in the back of the net. Cory Stavis capped the run with a marker moments later.

It marked the third-consecutive game the opposition used a lengthy run late to pull away from a feisty Ravens squad. 

Freshman attackman Casey Burnett (Windham, N.H.), who had an impressive offensive game with two goals and a pair of assists for four points, tallied a man-up goal with 3:45 remaining to stem the tide, but it was as close as Franklin Pierce would make it.

Adelphi rang up a 48-38 advantage in shots, including a 31-24 edge in shots on goal. Nick Watson, who came into the game with zero goals, tallied four markers on 10 attempts and had an assist for a game-high five points.

Despite Adelphi’s offensive onslaught, Franklin Pierce was able to remain in the game due to the impressive performance from sophomore goalie Don Denman (Exeter, N.H.), who stopped a career-high 21 shots, including six in the second quarter.

The Panthers also helped their cause by owning a commanding 15-4 advantage in face-offs and limiting the Ravens to a 21-for-31 effort in clear attempts.

The teams traded goals in the first quarter. Burnett broke the ice four minutes in with a goal off a nice crossing attempt from in front of the crease. Watson scored the first of his four markers at 9:22 of the frame, but Bryan Bourque (Goffstown, N.H.) responded 50 seconds later with a nifty tally to put Franklin Pierce back up by one. 

Adelphi bridged the first and second quarters with three-straight goals, including Ikerson’s man-up goal late in the opening period, to go up 4-2. Sophomore middie Erik Kelly (Tewksbury, Mass.) cut the Ravens’ deficit to one with 2:50 left until halftime with his fifth man-up goal of the season, which is the second highest total in the NE-10 and is only one off the lead set by American International’s Jeff Sienkiewicz. 

Franklin Pierce has been outstanding on its man-up opportunities through the opening four games as the Ravens have scor
 ed nine times (3^rd in NE-10) and posted a success rate of 45 percent, which is the second best mark in the league. 

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men’s lacrosse apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)