COLCHESTER, Vt.  (March 3, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team began the 2018 season with a 13-6 victory versus Northeast-10 Conference opponent Saint Michael's College Saturday afternoon at Duffy Field. The win was the first of the campaign for the Ravens and the loss was the Purple Knights first as well.

It took about 13 minutes before the first goal was scored in the first quarter. Following the dry spell, both squads offenses exploded for a combined 18 markers over the final three periods. Franklin Pierce senior attack Jack Carney (Dunbarton, N.H.) carried the Ravens offense with a hat trick (three goals) to go along with a game-high three assists in his first action of the new year.

Benjamin Lassow (Mansfield, Conn.), Louis Palumbo (Commack, N.Y.), Sean Delea (Hampstead, N.H.) and newcomer Matt Brewster (Merrimack, N.H.) added two goals apiece for the Crimson and Grey. Delea chipped in a helper while Palumbo went 15-of-20 (75.0%) from the face-off x and scooped up a game-high seven groundballs. Jake Castorf (Holbrook, N.Y.) chipped in a goal and an assist also.

Brian Loughlin carried the Purple Knights with three goals and one assist. Ravens freshman netminder Justin Lorenzo (Goshen, N.Y.) got the start in his first collegiate game. He turned away eight shot attempts while moving to 1-0 overall. For Saint Michael's Jake Sonberg made 14 saves in the setback. As a team, Franklin Pierce held the advantage in groundballs (35-to-25), in the circle (15 face-off wins to 6) and during clear attempts (14-of-18 to 17-of-22).

Luke Tracy (Windham, N.H.) tallied the first score of the game at the 2:04 mark in the first quarter as he corralled a feed from Carney and deposited the ball by the Purple Knights keeper. As the quarter ended the Ravens bench was called for a conduct foul which led to the first extra-man chance of the duel. Right as the penalty expired, Ralph Grillone III knotted the score at one all with SMC's opening goal of their year.

The Ravens immediately struck back with four unanswered scores to hold a 5-1 advantage at the break. After the Grillone III tally, Palumbo broke the deadlock by winning the ensuing faceoff and driving down towards the Saint Michael's zone. He let a shot rip just 11 seconds after the game-tying goal to reestablish the edge for the Crimson and Grey. Ahead 4-1 Carney notched his second score of the match as the buzzer sounded when he caused a Saint Mike's failed clear, shagged the loose ball and put an attempt into the cage.

Saint Michael's tacked on three of the first four goals of the third quarter to cut into their deficit at 6-4. The Ravens responded by outscoring the hosts 7-2 over the remaining minutes of the match. Carney totaled his third goal via a Delea helper to make the score 8-4 with 3:39 left in the third. The team captain also produced two assists in the final period as he teamed up with Castorf and Brewster to tack on to the Raven advantage.

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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store). You can also follow the men's lacrosse team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPUMLacrosse) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpumlacrosse).