Beliveau (1-2-3), Dale (1-2-3), Weber (2-1-3) all add three points each

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 13, 2013) – Sophomore midfielder Madeline Shopshire (Hyannis, Mass.) scored four goals, including three in the first half, on Saturday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team to an 11-7 win over American International in Northeast-10 Conference play at Ronald J. Abdow Field. Sophomore attacker Whitney McKay scored four goals in the loss for AIC.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-7 (2-5 Northeast-10), while American International falls to 1-11 (0-9 Northeast-10). The victory put a stop to a four-game losing streak for Franklin Pierce.

American International put home the first two goals of the game, in the opening 64 seconds, to take a 2-0 lead, courtesy of McKay and freshman midfielder Sydney DeArmond. After a handful of alternating goals, Franklin Pierce scored three straight over a span of 10:26 after the midway point of the half. Shopshire netted her first two of the day, while freshman attacker Nicole Dale (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) scored off an assist from fellow freshman attacker Nicole Beliveau (Westfield, Mass.).

The run gave the Ravens a 5-4 lead, but AIC would score twice in 27 seconds to take a 6-5 lead with 2:07 remaining before halftime, as McKay picked up her third of the half. Franklin Pierce wound up with the final possession before the intermission, and Shopshire finished off a feed from sophomore midfielder Amanda Gauvin (Ashburnham, Mass.) with five seconds remaining in the period to tie the game at 6-6 heading into halftime.

The Franklin Pierce defense clamped down to start the second half, as the Ravens began to assert control of the game. Senior midfielder Courtney Weber (Centerport, N.Y.) scored goals 34 seconds and 3:11 into the second half to give Franklin Pierce its first two-goal lead of the contest. Shopshire converted a free-position shot for her fourth and final goal of the day 11:57 into the second half to stretch the lead to 9-6.

Over the first 12 minutes of the second half, AIC managed to attempt just one shot, and it was knocked down by the defense before it got to the net. DeArmond got the AIC offense involved again with 16:43 to play, as she put away a free-position chance to cut the gap to 9-7. After the goal, the Franklin Pierce defense locked things down again, as it allowed only four further shot attempts, just two of which were on goal. Both of those were turned aside by sophomore goalkeeper Julia Coakley (Bridgewater, Mass.), who made her second start of the season.

The Ravens tacked on two insurance markers, one from sophomore attacker Geena Franciosi (South Easton, Mass.) with 8:21 to play and the other on a free-position shot by senior midfielder Ashley Lamagdeleine (Westfield, Mass.) with 20 seconds to play, to create the 11-7 final.

In addition to her four goals, Shopshire was near the heart of the afternoon's defensive efforts, along with Weber and freshman defender Liana Roman (Springfield, Mass.). Shopshire collected four ground balls and caused four turnovers, as a general nuisance to AIC throughout the field on Saturday. Weber picked up five ground balls, controlled two draws and caused two turnovers, while Roman recorded four ground balls and four draw controls to go with two caused turnovers.

In what has been a telltale stat in several Franklin Pierce contests so far on the season, the Ravens posted a 14-6 advantage in draw controls over AIC on Saturday afternoon. The extra possessions led to advantages of 36-26 in shot attempts and 30-15 in shots on goal in the game for the crimson and grey.

Coakley made eight saves against 15 shots on her cage to pick up the win (1-1) in net for Franklin Pierce. Freshman Lissy Doherty came up with 19 saves against 30 shots on goal, but was saddled with the loss (1-11) for AIC.

The Ravens return to the field on Monday, April 15, when they return home to host New Haven in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

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).