Six-Goal Second Half, Kelly Triple Allow Men’s Lacrosse to Score 9-7 Win Over Bentley

Burnett adds two goals, assist

RINDGE, N.H. (March 13, 2015) – On a benchmark evening in program history, the Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team erased some demons from seasons past on Friday, as it used six second-half goals to gut out a 9-7 victory over Bentley in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both teams at Sodexo Field. Speaking for a class which has been tortured by the Falcons in the past, senior midfielder Erik Kelly (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the way with three goals, while junior attack Casey Burnett (Windham, N.H.) added two goals and an assist. Junior midfielder Matt Brigham did the heavy lifting for Bentley, with three goals in defeat.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-0 (1-0 Northeast-10), while Bentley falls to 1-2 (0-1 Northeast-10).

The win was the first in program history for the Ravens over Bentley, which had won each of the previous 14 meetings between the two squads, though the talent gap between the two sides had closed in recent years. For Franklin Pierce, Friday's triumph served as a coda to the frustration of the last three seasons: the Ravens dropped back-to-back 9-8 decisions to Bentley -- on the road in 2012 and in triple overtime at home in 2013 -- and were stymied, 6-3, in a defensive struggle on the road a year ago.

Holding a 3-2 lead at halftime, Franklin Pierce came into the second half looking to write its own chapter in that narrative, but Bentley had other ideas to start the third quarter. Brigham struck for his second goal of the day just 42 seconds into the stanza. Freshman attack Joe DiRaimo followed with his third goal of the season 3:09 into the period and, just like that, the Falcons had a 4-3 lead.

The Ravens were able to regroup and, after the next five minutes went scoreless, put home the final three goals of the third quarter to head into the final frame with a 6-4 lead. Kelly's second of the day -- his fifth of the season -- came off of a feed from Burnett with 5:31 to play in the quarter, to tie the game at 4-4. Senior midfielder Cody MacLellan (Keene, N.H.) scored his third of the year with 3:52 left in the third to give the Ravens the lead for good, while freshman midfielder Sean Delea (Hampstead, N.H.) made it a two-goal game with his fourth of the season 82 seconds later.

Bentley senior attack Cutler Dimond took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as the third quarter expired. Delea made it hurt the Falcons, as he put home his second of the day just 20 seconds into the fourth quarter, off a feed from senior attack Eddie Noonan (Foxboro, Mass.), to make it a three-goal game.

The game slowed down from there, as nearly the next nine minutes went scoreless before Bentley started to turn up the heat again. Senior midfielder Bobby Hinds scored a man-up goal of his own with 5:45 to play, and Dimond set up the fourth of the season for senior attack Matt Dente just 42 seconds later, as the Falcons quickly closed within a goal at 7-6.

After the two teams traded empty possessions, including a key save by senior goalkeeper Don Denman (Exeter, N.H.) against Hinds, junior midfielder Brenden Caldeira (Sandwich, Mass.) found the net with a laser of a shot from the right side, to make it a two-goal game again at 8-6. Bentley won the ensuing faceoff, but junior long-stick Dylan Leone (Tewksbury, Mass.) forced a turnover, which sent the Ravens the other way and allowed them to run some clock. Ultimately, Franklin Pierce worked the ball to Kelly, who capped his three-goal day with just 59 seconds to play, to push the lead to 9-6.

After a timeout, the Falcons needed just 15 seconds to get the ball to Brigham, who put home his sixth of the season, to make it 9-7 with 44 seconds to play. Bentley would win the faceoff, control the ball for the remainder of regulation and attempt to put together a last-ditch effort to tie the game. Denman came up with two more key stops, both against Brigham, as the Ravens came away with the two-goal victory.

Earlier in the day, Bentley scored the only two goals of the first quarter, one each from freshman midfielder Chris Wiggins and Brigham. Franklin Pierce answered with all three second-quarter goals, two from Burnett and one from Kelly.

Leone and junior defenseman Malcolm Sutton (Hooksett, N.H.) led the defensive efforts for the Ravens, as they had three ground balls and two caused turnovers each. Sophomore Max Adler led Bentley with seven ground balls, primarily off of faceoff wins, while senior midfielder Doug Mahony caused a pair of turnovers.

Denman piled up 12 saves against 19 shots to pick up the win (4-0) in goal for Franklin Pierce. At the other end of the field, junior Daniel Shaughnessy finished with 15 saves against 24 shots, but still suffered the loss (1-1) for Bentley.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, March 17, when they travel to Le Moyne for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 3 p.m. at Ted Grant Field in Syracuse, N.Y. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Tuesday, March 24 against Merrimack at 3:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). 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 men's lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).