Bolduc makes 14 saves for final career victory

WORCESTER, Mass. (April 28, 2012) – A goal by senior attacker Brianna Nash (Oceanside, N.Y.) with 5:38 to play proved to be the game-winner, and freshman attacker Madeline Shopshire (Hyannis, Mass.) and junior midfielder Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) finished with four points each on Saturday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team to an 11-10 victory over Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference play at Multi-Sport Stadium. Freshman attacker Amy McNeil led Assumption with four goals in defeat.

With the win, Franklin Pierce finishes its season at 6-10 (4-8 Northeast-10), while Assumption wraps up its schedule at 5-11 (4-8 Northeast-10).

Junior midfielder Lindsey Leach (Hamden, Conn.) struck first to open up the scoring for Franklin Pierce just 2:21 into the contest, as Weber picked up her lone assist of the afternoon. From there, however, Assumption rattled off six straight goals over a span of 13:36 to jump to a 6-1 lead. McNeil would score three of her four goals in that stretch, before being held to one goal in the second half, while freshman midfielder Camille Auger converted a pair of free-position chances during the run.

Leach stopped the run with 3:51 remaining before halftime, and Shopshire put away a feed from freshman attacker Geena Franciosi (South Easton, Mass.) just 17 seconds later for her first of two goals over the final 3:34 of the stanza, cutting the halftime deficit to 6-4.

The Ravens picked up goals from freshman midfielder Amanda Gauvin (Ashburnham, Mass.) and Shopshire in the opening 2:17 of the second half to make it five straight Franklin Pierce goals as the team rallied to a 6-6 tie. McNeil answered the Shopshire goal 2:30 later to give Assumption its final lead of the day at 7-6 with 25:13 to play. Weber scored 60 seconds after McNeil to force a 7-7 tie, then scored another 3:03 after that, on Shopshire's one assist, to give the Ravens the lead for good. Senior midfielder Mary Kate Stille (North Quincy, Mass.) and Weber again, this time off a Gauvin assist, made it four straight Franklin Pierce goals to extend the lead as high as 10-7.

Assumption made a game of it again over the final 10:07, as Auger and junior midfielder Steph O'Rourke scored back-to-back goals to trim the Raven lead to one goal, at 10-9, with 5:56 remaining. Nash had the answer though, as she scored just 18 seconds after O'Rourke's goal to push the lead to 11-9.

The final attempt by Assumption to rally for a tie would fall just short down the stretch. While not allowing a shot in the run of play after the Nash goal, the Franklin Pierce defense did surrender a pair of free position shots. O'Rourke converted the first one, with 80 seconds to play, to pull the Greyhounds within a goal. The second came with just 58 seconds remaining, but senior goalkeeper Jillian Bolduc (Atkinson, N.H.) turned it aside to preserve the one-goal victory.

In all, Bolduc made 14 saves, including four free-position saves, against 24 shots on her goal to pick up the win (6-9) in front of the Franklin Pierce net. It was her seventh double-digit save effort of the season and secured her 24th and final career victory. She has been the school's career leader in goaltender wins since the end of her sophomore season.

Offensively for Franklin Pierce, Weber (3-1-4) and Shopshire (3-1-4) led the way with four points each, while Gauvin (1-1-2) and Leach (2-0-2) added two apiece. On the other side of the ball, Stille collected a team-high five ground balls, while Stille and senior defender Kim Jaksina (Townsend, Mass.) caused two turnovers each.

For Assumption, only three players found the scoresheet, as the Greyhounds were held without an assist on the day. McNeil scored four times, while Auger and O'Rourke contributed three goals each. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Michelle Monahan led all players with six groundballs, while Auger and sophomore midfielder Nancy McAdam each matched Stille with five. McAdam and Monahan each caused a game-high four turnovers.

Monahan made 10 saves against 21 on-target shots at her end of the field and suffered the loss (5-11) between the pipes for Assumption.

Assumption held a 44-27 advantage in shot attempts, a 30-22 edge in ground balls and a 15-8 advantage in draw controls in the game. Franklin Pierce was successful on 19 of its 25 clear attempts (76%) and went 0-for-4 on free-position shots. Assumption went 18-for-20 on clear attempts (90%) and 6-for-18 on free-position opportunities (33.3%).

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).