Jaksina leads defensive effort with seven groundballs, five caused turnovers

WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 19, 2012) – Junior attacker Ashley Lamagdeleine (Westfield, Mass.) and junior midfielder Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) tallied four points each on Monday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team to an 11-10 victory over Indiana Tech in non-conference, neutral-site play at Richard L. Evans Field on the campus of Lake Howell High School. Junior attacker Nicole Johnson scored three times in defeat for Indiana Tech.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 1-1 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Indiana Tech falls to 2-2 (2-0 NWLL). The game was the first ever meeting between the two schools in women's lacrosse.

With the game tied at 9-9 and 12 minutes to play, Lamagdeleine was fouled in the offensive end and awarded a free-position shot. She converted, giving the Ravens the lead for good with 11:57 to play in regulation. Just under two minutes later, junior midfielder Mary Kate Stille (North Quincy, Mass.) earned another free position and cashed in as well, staking the Ravens to a two-goal lead with 9:59 to play.

Indiana Tech controlled the ensuing draw, but immediately turned the ball over, giving Franklin Pierce possession and a two-goal lead with under 10 minutes to play. The Ravens attempted to run the clock and finish the possession with what might have been a put-away goal, but could not find the cage. Stille whistled a shot wide of the net with 8:04 to play, and Lamagdeleine was later stuffed by Indiana Tech junior goalkeeper Ashley Elvey with 6:32 to play.

After the Warriors failed to clear the ball, freshman attacker Megan Raposa (Tiverton, R.I.) was awarded a free-position opportunity with 5:49 to play, but was turned aside by Elvey, allowing Indiana Tech to regain control. The Warriors worked the ball down the field quickly and sprung Johnson on a breakaway, allowing her to cut the deficit to 11-10 with still 5:23 to play.

However, it would turn out to be the final goal of the game, as the two teams shuffled possession back and forth from there on out. Twice in the final three minutes, Indiana Tech had a free-position opportunity to tie the game, but junior attacker Nikki Rottell rang one off the post with 2:37 to play, and senior goalkeeper Jillian Bolduc (Atkinson, N.H.) made the pivotal save of the game with 20 seconds to play on sophomore attacker Autumn McMillan. Bolduc held the rebound herself, passed it off to the defense and the Ravens cleared the zone to hang on for the win.

Earlier in the game, after Indiana Tech scored the game's first two goals, the Ravens scored seven of the next eight to jump out to a 7-3 lead with 12:27 to play in the first half. From there, the Warriors netted four of the final five goals in the half to tighten the margin to 8-7, ultimately leading to the late-game excitement.

For Franklin Pierce, Lamagdeleine (3-1-4) and Weber (2-2-4) led the way with four points each, while Stille (1-2-3) was the only other multiple-point scorer. For the second straight outing, Lamagdeleine peppered the cage with shots, attempting nine and getting eight on target on her way to a three-goal game. At the other end of the field, senior defender Kim Jaksina (Townsend, Mass.) put her stamp on the game by causing five turnovers and picking up seven groundballs. Weber contributed defensively as well, with five groundballs and four caused turnovers. Weber and senior midfielder Christine McKay (Norwood, Mass.) combined to record seven of Franklin Pierce's 10 draw control wins.

After Johnson for Indiana Tech, sophomore midfielder Kendall Guthrie, Rottell and junior midfielder Clea Endres all scored two goals each, while no Warrior picked up an assist on the afternoon. Johnson did a majority of her damage from eight meters out, as she converted both of her free-position chances. Rottell took most of the draws for Indiana Tech, and controlled six of them herself to lead the team. Defensively, Johnson picked up four groundballs, while McMillin caused three turnovers.

Bolduc made 12 saves against 22 shots on her net to pick up the win (1-0) in front of the goal for Franklin Pierce. Elvey stopped 15 of 26 shots on goal and took the loss (1-1) for Indiana Tech.

Franklin Pierce held a 35-27 edge in shot attempts and a 26-24 advantage in ground balls, while Indiana Tech held the edge in draw controls, 13-10. The Ravens took much better care of the ball than in their opener, forcing 21 turnovers by the Warriors, while committing just 14. Franklin Pierce was successful on 18 of its 24 clear attempts (75%) and went 2-for-7 on free-position shots (28.6%). Indiana Tech went 12-for-20 on clear attempts (60%) and 4-for-13 on free-position opportunities (30.8%).

The Ravens returns to the field on Wednesday, March 21, when take on Erskine in a neutral-site, non-conference contest. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Richard L. Evans Field. Franklin Pierce's first home game is scheduled for Saturday, March 24 against American International 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).