Stille, Weber pile up five points each

RINDGE, N.H. (April 12, 2011) – Senior attacker Lauren Stille (North Quincy, Mass.) put home three goals and two assists and sophomore midfielder Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) scored four goals and added an assist as each finished with five points on Tuesday evening, but the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team was defeated, 15-12, by Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field. Freshman attacker Phoebe Clark and junior midfielder Emily Mongeau each tallied four points on three goals and an assist to lead SNHU.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-5 (3-4 Northeast-10), while Southern New Hampshire improves to 6-4 (4-2 Northeast-10).

It would be a tale of two halves under the lights, as SNHU opened with five of the game's first seven goals on their way to an 8-4 halftime lead. Freshman attacker Justine Clark scored all three of her goals in that opening 5-2 run, including back-to-back goals at one point. Stille netted two of her three goals in the opening half for Franklin Pierce.

The Ravens struggled to maintain control of the ball in the first half, as they were successful on just eight of their 15 first-half clear attempts, which led to a 27-11 shots advantage for SNHU heading into the intermission.

Franklin Pierce would pick up the pace in the second half. After SNHU made it 9-4 on the first of two goals by freshman defender Kayleigh Dube, senior attacker Jordan Baillargeon (Westfield, Mass.) and Weber struck for back-to-back goals 66 seconds apart for Franklin Pierce to close the gap to 9-6. However, the Penmen would score the next three goals and five of the next six to create what proved to be an insurmountable, 14-7 gap. Phoebe Clark chalked up a pair of goals in the run, while Mongeau added a goal and an assist.

From there, Franklin Pierce hit its stride, as the Ravens scored five of the final six goals of the game, including two from sophomore midfielder Lindsey Leach (Hamden, Conn.) and a goal and two assists from Stille. Over a span of just 8:23, Franklin Pierce closed the 14-7 gap all the way to the 15-12 final before it ran out of time. The effort led to a more evenly balanced second half, as Franklin Pierce held a 19-17 edge in shots and committed only seven turnovers in the second half after giving the ball away 14 times in the first half.

For Franklin Pierce, Stille and Weber led the way offensively, while Leach finished the night with three goals. In addition, Baillargeon scored twice while freshman midfielder Julie Hemphill (Clarkston, Mich.) dished out a pair of assists to round out the team's multiple-point scorers.

Defensively, junior defender Kim Jaksina (Townsend, Mass.) racked up seven ground balls while Weber picked up five. Jaksina also led the team by causing three turnovers, while Weber forced two.

After Phoebe Clark and Mongeau for SNHU, Justine Clark was the only other player with more than two points, as she finished with three goals. Junior midfielder Sara Halbich and Dube scored twice each to round out the multiple-goal scorers for the Penmen. Defensively, Mongeau was a menace all over the field, as she caused three turnovers and picked up nine ground balls, in addition to the nine draw controls she corralled.

Junior goalkeeper Jillian Bolduc (Atkinson, N.H.) made 19 saves, but was saddled with the loss (6-5) in front of the Franklin Pierce net. Junior Hannah Moriarty stopped 10 shots to pick up the win (6-4) between the pipes for Southern New Hampshire.

SNHU posted a 44-30 advantage in shots and held a 23-21 edge in ground balls in the game. Franklin Pierce was successful on 16 of its 24 (66.7%) clear attempts and finished 2-for-8 on free-position shots. SNHU went 17-for-22 (77.3%) on clear attempts and 2-for-4 on free-position shots.

The Ravens return to the field on Sunday, April 17, when they remain home to host Adelphi in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 10:30 a.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).