Ravens travel to Le Moyne on Saturday

RINDGE, N.H. (April 20, 2011) – Junior attacker Meghan Smith tallied a game-high six points on five goals and one assist on Wednesday night to lead Saint Anselm to a 17-8 victory over the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field. Senior attacker Lauren Stille (North Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) scored two goals each for Franklin Pierce in defeat.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-7 (3-6 Northeast-10), while Saint Anselm improves to 3-8 (3-6 Northeast-10).

After Franklin Pierce scored four of the game's first six goals, Saint Anselm rattled off a 6-0 run over a span of 11:58 late in the first half to jump to an 8-4 lead, with all six goals coming from different players. Four of the six goals came on free-position shots, while Smith contributed a goal and an assist to the run.

Franklin Pierce answered with two of the final three goals of the first half and the first goal of the second half to put together a 3-1 run to cut the gap to 9-7. Senior attacker Jordan Baillargeon (Westfield, Mass.) scored the final goal of the first half with 21 seconds remaining and then set up Stille's second goal of the game 2:18 into the second period.

However, Franklin Pierce would get no closer as Saint Anselm put home the next five goals over a span of just 3:50 to put the game out of reach on its way to scoring eight of the game's last nine goals and the 17-8 victory. In the lightning-quick five-goal run, the Hawks struck twice on free-position attempts, sophomore midfielder Bryanna Hayes put home two goals and senior attacker Leigh Krzyston dished out a pair of assists.

In addition to Stille and Weber for Franklin Pierce, junior midfielder Mary Kate Stille (North Quincy, Mass.) recorded two assists and Baillargeon chipped in a goal and an assist to round out the multiple-point scorers. Junior defender Kim Jaksina (Townsend, Mass.) caused three turnovers and picked up three ground balls to lead the defensive efforts.

Behind Smith for Saint Anselm, Krzyston finished with a goal and three assists for four points, while sophomore midfielder Carrie Brophy netted three goals. Defensively, sophomore midfielder Kaleigh Hunt racked up five ground balls and Hayes and junior defender Carline Wintersteen caused a pair of turnovers each.

Junior goalkeeper Jillian Bolduc (Atkinson, N.H.) made 12 saves and took the loss (6-7) in front of the Franklin Pierce net, while senior Katherine O'Hara stopped five shots to pick up the win (2-7) between the pipes for Saint Anselm.

Saint Anselm posted a 36-24 advantage in shots, held a 21-18 edge in ground balls and controlled 21 of the 25 draws in the game. Franklin Pierce was successful on 11 of its 16 (68.8%) clear attempts and finished 2-for-4 on free-position shots. Saint Anselm went 8-for-10 (80.0%) on clear attempts and 8-for-11 on free-position shots.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 23, when they travel to Le Moyne for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is scheduled for noon at Athletic Turf Complex in Syracuse, N.Y. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Senior Day, Saturday, April 30, against Assumption at 3 p.m.

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).