RINDGE, N.H. (April 14, 2018) – A strong fourth quarter erased the tribulations of the third quarter on Saturday for the Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team, which celebrated Senior Day before the game. Trailing 10-8 after a 7-4 halftime lead had evaporated, the Ravens pumped home the final four goals of the contest at Sodexo Field to storm to a 12-10 win over visiting Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play. Freshman midfielder Nevin Kriger (Burlington, Mass.) scored four times, including the game-winner, while senior midfielder Sean Delea (Hampstead, N.H.) added four points of his own on three goals and an assist, to lead the way for the Ravens.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 5-5 (3-5 NE10), while SNHU falls to 4-7 (2-6 NE10).

The final of his three goals on the day was Delea's 85^th career tally. The total ties him with his own cousin, Kevin Dargin '15, for second place on the school's all-time goal-scoring list.

Delea opened the scoring just 76 seconds into the proceedings on Saturday. Senior midfielder Benjamin Lassow (Mansfield, Conn.) and Kriger struck as well in the first quarter, as each teamed scored thrice in the opening stanza. Senior attack Corey Cairo, senior midfielder Devin Calkins and junior attack Tom Schutz provided the answers for SNHU.

Franklin Pierce surged out front with an impressive second quarter, in which the Ravens outscored the Penmen 4-1. It was four different goal scorers in the period for the crimson and grey, as senior attack Jack Carney (Dunbarton, N.H.), junior attack Luke Tracy (Windham, N.H.), Delea and Kriger all found the back of the net. Delea added his lone assist of the day in the second quarter as well, and Franklin Pierce took a 7-4 lead into the halftime break.

As quickly as the lead had been built, it was torn down on the other side of halftime. SNHU ran up a 5-1 scoring margin in the third quarter to jump to a 9-8 lead. Balanced offense continued to be a theme of the afternoon, as the Penmen got the five goals from five different sources: Calkins, senior midfielder Mark Beirne, Schutz, freshman midfielder Jayden Jean and junior midfielder Joseph Mayernik. Delea had Franklin Pierce's lone third-quarter goal to complete his second hat trick of the season.

Cairo notched his second goal of the afternoon 4:10 into the fourth quarter to stake the Penmen to a two-goal lead, at 10-8. From there though, it would be all Ravens for the remainder of the contest. Lassow pulled Franklin Pierce within a goal with 8:48 to play, on his team-leading 23^rd goal of the season. Kriger followed by finishing off his first career hat trick just 56 seconds later, with 7:52 to play, to level things at 10-10.

The game would remain stuck at 10-10 for over five minutes. Franklin Pierce freshman goalkeeper Justin Lorenzo (Goshen, N.Y.) made two saves with the game tied down the stretch, while SNHU senior netminder Michael Brawley countered with one of his own. It was the Ravens who would ultimately break the tie, with just 2:25 to play, as Kriger cashed in his ninth goal of the campaign, which would eventually stand as the game-winning tally. Tracy put away a feed from junior midfielder Matt Brewster (Merrimack, N.H.) for an insurance marker with 51 seconds to play, as the Ravens went on to the 12-10 victory.

Kriger (4-0-4) and Delea (3-1-4) led the way with four points apiece for Franklin Pierce, while four other Ravens tallied two points apiece. Carney piled up a game-high seven ground balls, while senior defender John Massaro (Newington, Conn.) added five of his own and caused three turnovers. Senior midfielder Louis Palumbo (Commack, N.Y.) and junior midfielder Chris Sanderson (Saugus, Mass.) combined to win 15 of 25 faceoffs.

For SNHU, Cairo (2-2-4) led the way with four points, while Calkins (2-1-3) added three of his own. In all, nine different Penmen tallied at least one point on the afternoon. Junior faceoff man Andrew Liu led the team with four ground balls, while freshman midfielder Jake Bridge caused a pair of turnovers.

Senior goalkeeper Connor Wacksman (Guilderland, N.Y.) got the start in the Franklin Pierce goal on Senior Day and made two saves against five shots on goal over the opening 13:54. Lorenzo (5-5) took over from there and stopped seven of 14 shots the rest of the way to pick up the win.

At the other end of the field, Brawley (2-3) finished with 18 saves against 30 shots on goal in a losing effort in the SNHU crease.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, April 17, when they remain home to host Pace in an NE10 contest. Opening faceoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Sodexo Field.

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 lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).