Eddie Noonan throws in three for the Ravens

MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 5, 2014) – Kevin Dargin (Littleton, Mass.) and Eddie Noonan (Foxboro, Mass.) each pumped in three goals, but a lack of sustained offensive momentum doomed the Franklin Pierce University men’s lacrosse team in a 12-9 setback to Saint Anselm on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium in Manchester, N.H.

The Ravens had their two-game winning streak snapped in falling to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the Northeast-10, while the Hawks were able to shake off a three-game losing skid in improving to 3-6 and 2-4 in league play.

Franklin Pierce dug itself an early 3-0 hole, and tried throughout the game to mount a comeback, but each time the Ravens seemed to generate any sort of momentum, it was short lived by a quick response by Saint Anselm.

Franklin Pierce threw in back-to-back goals just twice in the game, including late in the first quarter and midway through the fourth with 5:16 remaining to trim the deficit to 10-8. Noonan and Dargin took turns throwing in a strike to key the late surge.

But like they did the entire game, the Hawks countered just 17 seconds later with a marker from Jake Mallinson to go back up by three and put an end to any threat. Mallinson, along with James Peters, paced St. A’s with four goals apiece. It was part of a terrific offensive afternoon for Peters, who produced the four goals on just five attempts, while assisting on another marker to tally a five-point afternoon.

Saint Anselm outshot Franklin Pierce, 53-31, while recording 15, 16, and 14 attempts in the first, second, and third quarters, respectively. The Hawks also forced the Ravens into 20 miscues, while also holding a significant edge in groundballs by a 38-22 count.

Erik Kelly (Tewksbury, Mass.) added a pair of goals for the Ravens, including one with 7:58 remaining in the second quarter to pull Franklin Pierce to within a goal at 4-3. Mallinson and Peters, though responded with back-to-back goals (the second time in the contest they did that) to go up 6-3 at the break.

Dargin, Brenden Caldeira (Sandwich, Mass.), and Noonan each struck home a shot in the third, but Saint Anselm continually answered, including pumping in two-straight tallies following Caldeira’s off shots from Ryan Mee and Brennan Quackenbush.

Don Denman (Exeter, N.H.) made 15 saves despite suffering the loss in goal for the Ravens to fall to 5-3 on the year. His counterpart, Saint Anselm’s James O’Neill, brushed aside 10 shots on 19 faced to earn the win and run his record to 3-6.

Dargin’s hat-trick gave him 21 on the season, marking the second-consecutive year he topped the 20-goal plateau. He also moved into sole possession of third place in program history with 65 career markers with his sights set next on Bill Paradis’ second-place total of 69. Luke Ferreira’s school-leading 76 goals is the ultimate total that Dargin is looking to overtake.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday when the Ravens play host to Southern New Hampshire at 4 p.m. on Sodexo Field.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s lacrosse, please visit the team’s page at http://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 http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)