Dale (4-0-4), Weber (2-2-4) score four points each

KEENE, N.H. (April 11, 2013) – Freshman attacker Nicole Dale (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) scored three of her four goals in the first half on Thursday afternoon, but the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team dropped a 13-11 decision on the road against Keene State in non-conference play at Owl Athletic Complex. Senior midfielder Lauren Brown scored five goals and fellow senior midfielder Nicole Curry added four in the win for Keene State.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 2-7 (1-5 Northeast-10), while Keene State improves to 6-5 (1-1 Little East).

Early on, the two teams alternated the first six goals as they were feeling each other out and trying to get things revved up on a cold afternoon in the Granite State. Senior midfielder Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) scored the opening goal of the game, while Dale and freshman attacker Nicole Beliveau (Westfield, Mass.) added goals for Franklin Pierce in the opening 13 minutes, while Brown netted her first two for Keene State. The Beliveau goal came on a nice play by sophomore midfielder Madeline Shopshire (Hyannis, Mass.), who came out of the defensive end with the ball and a head of steam. She used her speed to generate a partial two-on-one with Beliveau as the duo worked into the offensive third. Before the top of the fan, Shopshire flipped a pass over the top of the lone defender, which sprung Beliveau in all alone against the goalkeeper for the score.

Keene State took its first lead at the 13:48 mark on Curry's first goal of the afternoon, but Franklin Pierce would get it back on the ensuing possession. Senior attacker Ashley Lamagdeleine (Westfield, Mass.) wound up with the ball on the left-wing side, along the goal-line extended. She used an explosive first step to get a shoulder around her defender and powered to the front of the net before rifling home her ninth goal of the year. Dale followed with her second of the day less than a minute after the Lamagdeleine goal to reclaim the lead for Franklin Pierce.

In the final 10 minutes before halftime, Keene State tied the game on Brown's third of the game, before Dale took the lead back one more time, though it would be the final lead the Ravens held on the day.

Keene State played down a player for much of the final six minutes before intermission, as it took a pair of yellow cards. However, Franklin Pierce was unable to capitalize and, in fact, gave up three goals in the man-up situation. Curry scored two of them, as she scored three of her four goals in the first half, and Keene State took an 8-6 lead into the halftime break.

Freshman midfielder Lauren Beville (Jamesville, N.Y.) got the second half off on the right foot for the Ravens at the 3:37 mark, when she took a quick feed into the middle from Weber and put it to the back of the net to cut the gap to 8-7. However, Brown answered only 18 seconds later with her fourth of the day, and junior attacker Julie Trombetta and Curry followed to make it a quick 3-0 spurt for Keene State, which wound up being the one to put the game away. Combined with the final three goals of the first half, it was a 6-1 run for Keene State, which turned a 6-5 deficit into an 11-7 lead it would hold the rest of the way.

Franklin Pierce got it back to a two-goal deficit with 16:36 to play, as Weber set up Dale's fourth of the game and then put one home herself, but Keene State answered with two of its own, including the last of the day for Brown. The Ravens scored twice more -- once each from Beliveau and Shopshire -- to cut the gap to 13-11 with 4:56 to play.

Franklin Pierce took possession again off a turnover with 3:05 to play, needing a goal on the ensuing possession to have a realistic chance to complete the comeback. The offense, with no need to rush just yet, worked to generate a high-quality scoring chance, which it would find when Dale circled to the top of the arc and flipped a pass into the middle to Shopshire, who the defense had lost track of. However, Keene State junior goalkeeper Erin Taylor came up with her biggest save of the afternoon to stymie Shopshire and preserve the two-goal lead. Franklin Pierce got the ball back a couple times in the final minute, but by then it was too late to finish the comeback.

Junior goalkeeper Jacqueline Jolles (Hamden, Conn.) started in net and came up with only four saves against 12 shots on goal and took the loss (2-6) for Franklin Pierce. Sophomore Julia Coakley (Bridgewater, Mass.) had a strong second half, making six saves against 11 shots on net to give the team a chance to rally.

At the other end, Taylor chalked up 11 saves against 22 on-target shots to pick up the win (5-3) for Keene State.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 13, when they travel to American International for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for noon at Ronald J. Abdow Field in Springfield, 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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).