David Lima has three-point evening with goal & assist

RINDGE, N.H. (October 8, 2013) – Senior forward Gareth Dudney (North Andover, Mass.) exploded for a career-high three goals to lift the Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team to a convincing 4-0 triumph over Stonehill on Tuesday night at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

The win snapped Franklin Pierce’s two-game losing streak as the Ravens improved to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the Northeast-10. The Skyhawks dipped to 3-7 and 2-5 in league play.

Dudney’s three goals came on eight attempts throughout the evening with five of those going on net. He took over the team lead in markers with the explosive output, as they were his first goals of the season.

Dudney’s first strike came in the 15^th minute on a penalty kick, which was awarded to the Ravens after a Stonehill defender hauled down a Ravens attacker deep in the box. Dudney’s PK was a laser to the upper left corner of the net that Stonehill keeper Adam Colella had no chance at stopping.

Franklin Pierce struck again 10 minutes later, this time with junior David Lima (Everett, Mass.) sending a strike to the upper part of the goal off a nice feed from freshman Dallas Donovan (South Yarmouth, Mass.), who notched an assist on the play.

The onslaught continued nine minutes later, as Dudney once again stepped up for Franklin Pierce following a nice surge into the box by the Ravens. The play began with graduate forward Ryan Ruffing (Westborough, Mass.) coming down the right flank, and sending a kick towards the goal that caromed off a Stonehill defender and onto the foot of Dudney, who let a shot rip to the lower left corner of the goal for a 3-0 Ravens’ lead. Ruffing’s aggressive rush earned him an assist on the play.

Franklin Pierce held a commanding 18-2 edge in shots during the opening 45 minutes, and finished with a blistering 26-9 advantage. Eleven (11) of those attempts went on net, including a pair from Ruffing.

Dudney put a capper to his hat-trick in the 61^st minute when he took a crossing pass from Lima, and fired to the lower right corner of the goal to make it 4-0. Lima racked up an assist on the goal to give him a three-point evening.

Colella was ambushed by the three goals in the first half, and despite making five saves in only 45 minutes of action, he was tagged with the loss to fall to 3-7.

Stonehill did not create much of an offensive surge, but when the Skyhawks did penetrate deep into Franklin Pierce territory, junior goalkeeper Sam Meza (Whittier, Calif.) stood tall by making a pair of saves to earn the shutout win and improve to 4-5 on the year.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens play host to Saint Rose at 7 p.m. on Sodexo Field.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s soccer, 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 soccer apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)