Weber, Shopshire score twice each

SPARKILL, N.Y. (March 17, 2013) – Senior attacker Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) led the offense with two goals and an assist on Sunday afternoon, but the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team was defeated, 14-7, by St. Thomas Aquinas in non-conference play at Spartan Field. Sophomore midfielder Samantha Lowney poured home five goals in the win for St. Thomas Aquinas.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-1 (0-0 Northeast-10), while St. Thomas Aquinas improves to 7-0 (0-0 East Coast), continuing the best start in program history.

Franklin Pierce raced out to an early 2-0 lead over the first four minutes, as senior attacker Ashley Lamagdeleine (Westfield, Mass.) opened the scoring at 2:52, before Weber put away a free-position shot at 3:55. St. Thomas Aquinas responded with four goals over the ensuing 4:05 to erase the early deficit and take a 4-2 lead, which it would never relinquish. Junior attacker Margaret Sharp had a goal and an assist in the run for the Spartans, while Lowney struck for the first of her five goals.

Twice in the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Ravens pulled within a goal on man-up goals, first by sophomore attacker Madeline Shopshire (Hyannis, Mass.) at 20:34 and then by freshman attacker Nicole Beliveau (Westfield, Mass.) at 28:25. However, each time, St. Thomas Aquinas had an answer to retain the two-goal lead, as sophomore midfielder Alexis Serras and Lowney each scored their second goal of the afternoon. The Spartans took a 6-4 lead into the intermission.

Just 71 seconds into the second half, Shopshire again pulled Franklin Pierce within a goal, this time at 6-5 with a man-down goal, though once again, the team was unable to find the equalizer. From there, St. Thomas Aquinas scored eight of the next nine goals over a span of 20:23 to take control of the game. Sophomore midfielder Kellie Kucinski scored the next two after the Shopshire goal to extend the lead to three goals for the first time, and would add another goal later on.

Lowney put home her final three goals of the afternoon during the run and Serras scored her third of the day, while senior attacker Johannah Mitchell dished out a pair of assists. For Franklin Pierce, Weber scored her second goal just past the midway point of the half and freshman attacker Nicole Dale (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) scored with 2:38 to play to cap the scoring and create the 14-7 final.

Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Coakley (Bridgewater, Mass.) started and played the first 54:49 of the game in net for Franklin Pierce. She made four saves against 18 shots on goal and suffered the loss (0-1). Junior Jacqueline Jolles (Hamden, Conn.) took over for the final 5:11 and stopped the only shot she faced.

Freshman Kaitlyn Lonergan minded the net for St. Thomas Aquinas and made eight saves against 15 shots on goal to pick up the win (7-0).

St. Thomas Aquinas held a 34-20 advantage in shot attempts, a 19-13 edge in ground balls, and a 14-4 advantage in draw controls in the game. Franklin Pierce was successful on all six of its clear attempts and converted on one of two free-position shots (50%). St. Thomas Aquinas went 10-for-10 on clears and 2-for-5 on free-position attempts (40%).

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, March 19, when they travel to Dominican (N.Y.) for a non-conference contest. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Torne Valley Sports Complex in Hillburn, N.Y.

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).