Franklin Pierce Flies By American International, 21-15
Sullivan turns away 15 shots on Senior Night to earn her first career win
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RINDGE, N.H. (April 24, 2008) - Franklin Pierce University senior goaltender Michaela Sullivan (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) made 15 saves to earn her first collegiate victory as the Ravens defeated American International College by a score of 21-16 in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action on Senior Night at Sodexho Field on Thursday evening.
On Senior Night, Sullivan came up big for the Ravens in her first start since 2005, making seven saves on 14 shots in the first half and then stopping eight of 16 attempts in the second half. Senior captain Celine Stamets (Sausalito, Calif./Mavin Catholic) also played well for the Ravens in her final game at Sodexho Field, scoring once and adding one assist to break the school's career assists mark with 23 helpers.
The Franklin Pierce freshmen also starred on Senior Night, combining for 15 goals and three assists. Jordan Baillargeon (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) led the Raven attack with seven goals and two assists for nine points, while classmate Lauren Stille (North Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) netted five and assisted on one. Jillian Benn (North Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) also contributed three goals on the evening.
Senior Alexis Castro (Chula Vista, Calif./University of Vermont) paced the Yellow Jackets offensively with five goals, including the first three goals of the game, while junior Katie Warner (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) added four goals and a game-high three assists. The team's best player on the night might have been freshman Gina Gallo (Westfield, Mass./Westfield), who was excellent in goal in making 23 saves to keep the Yellow Jackets in the match.
AIC stormed out of the game in the first half, as three Castro tallies began the scoring and the Yellow Jackets took a 5-0 lead 12:19 into the match. But after the team's traded goals to make the score 6-1 with 11:41 left in the first half, Franklin Pierce stormed back with 10 of the half's final 11 goals to take an 11-7 lead into halftime. Stille scored four goals to lead the Raven comeback, including capping the half with a breakaway tally with two seconds left.
Franklin Pierce continued its strong play to begin the second half, increasing the lead to six thanks to a pair of tallies by Baillargeon. AIC attempted to mount a comeback in the second half, receiving four goals from Warner, but the Ravens never allowed the lead to creep below four goals and held on for the win. Junior captain Carla Savini (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) put the exclamation point on the team's third win of the year with her third tally of the game, coming with 20 seconds left on the clock.
Franklin Pierce (3-12, 1-8 NE-10) will attempt to close out its 2008 season with a pair of Northeast-10 wins when the Ravens travel to Worcester, Mass., to take on Assumption College in the team's season finale on Saturday at 1 p.m. American International (0-15, 0-9 NE-10) closes out its 2008 season tomorrow at Bentley College at 7 p.m.