Nash scores twice

WALTHAM, Mass. (April 26, 2012) – Senior attacker Megan Wiggins led all players with six points on five goals and an assist on Thursday night to lead No. 10 nationally ranked Bentley to a 20-5 victory over the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Bentley University Turf Field. Senior attacker Brianna Nash (Oceanside, N.Y.) scored twice in defeat for Franklin Pierce.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-10 (3-8 Northeast-10), while Bentley improves to 12-5 (9-3 Northeast-10).

After the two teams traded goals in the opening 6:08, Bentley struck for four straight goals, including two free-position conversions, from four different players to take a 5-1 lead it would never relinquish. Junior midfielder Lindsey Leach (Hamden, Conn.) took a feed from junior attacker Ashley Lamagdeleine (Westfield, Mass.) and put home her eighth goal of the season to stop the bleeding for Franklin Pierce. In fact, the Ravens would score three of the next five goals at that point to close the gap to 7-4. However, Bentley scored the final three goals of the first half, including two by Wiggins, and the first 10 goals of the second half to put the game out of reach.

Nash was the only multiple-point scorer of the game for Franklin Pierce, while Leach, freshman attacker Geena Franciosi (South Easton, Mass.) and junior midfielder Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) rounded out the goal scoring for the Ravens. In addition to Lamagdeleine's assist, junior attacker Melissa Richtel (Castle Rock, Colo.) added a helper as well. Defensively, senior goalkeeper Jillian Bolduc (Atkinson, N.H.) led Franklin Pierce with three groundballs, while three different Ravens forced one turnover each.

After Wiggins' six-point night for Bentley, junior attacker Taylor Bastien (0-5-5), sophomore midfielder Chelsea Larivee (3-0-3) and junior attacker Cori Geiger (2-1-3) all added at least three points as well. On the other side of the ball, Wiggins and senior goalkeeper Kate Poznick collected three groundballs each, and Poznick led all players by causing two turnovers.

Bolduc faced a barrage of 27 shots on her net and turned aside seven of them while taking the loss (5-7) in goal for Franklin Pierce. Poznick stopped five of the nine shots sent her way over the first 45:54 to pick up the win (2-0) between the pipes for Bentley.

Bentley held a 35-18 advantage in shot attempts, a 19-13 edge in ground balls and a 14-11 advantage in draw controls in the game. Franklin Pierce was successful on 14 of its 20 clear attempts (70%) and went 0-for-5 on free-position shots. Bentley went 12-for-15 on clear attempts (80%) and 2-for-6 on free-position opportunities (33.3%).

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 28 when they travel to Assumption for a Northeast-10 Conference contest and the season finale. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Multi-Sport Stadium in Worcester, Mass.

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).