Gauvin nets three

RINDGE, N.H. (March 25, 2014) – The Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team forced No. 14 nationally ranked Stonehill to play below its usual pace on Tuesday night and rallied from a 5-2 halftime deficit to a 6-6 tie in the middle of the second half. The Ravens were never quite able to complete the comeback and take the lead however, as Stonehill scored twice down the stretch to escape with an 8-7 victory in Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 2-4 (1-3 Northeast-10), while Stonehill improves to 3-3 (2-1 Northeast-10). Franklin Pierce finished with a 27-17 edge in shot attempts in the game, including an 18-12 advantage in shots on goal, while the eight goals marked Stonehill's second-lowest offensive output of the season.

Stonehill came out of the gate strong, putting up the game's first five goals over the first 9:45 of the contest to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Junior attack Mikayla Couch got the run started, while fellow junior attack Brooke Rudden later put home back-to-back goals 54 seconds apart.

The Ravens altered their approach from there and successfully slowed down the Stonehill attack, as the remainder of the game would be highlighted by lengthy Franklin Pierce possessions. Junior midfielder Amanda Gauvin (Ashburnham, Mass.) got the Ravens on the board with a free-position goal with 14:05 to play in the first half, her first of three scores on the night. The game would go without another goal until 5:41 remained in the period, when sophomore midfielder Lauren Beville (Jamesville, N.Y.) put home her first of two as Franklin Pierce clawed back to a 5-2 deficit heading into the intermission.

Franklin Pierce would stick with the same game plan coming out of the break, as the Ravens continued to slow the game down at every opportunity, while picking and choosing their spots to attack. Two more goals in the first 7:59 of the second half cut the deficit to one, at 5-4. Gauvin put away her second of the game five minutes into the stanza, while Beville struck again, off a feed from junior attack Megan Raposa (Tiverton, R.I.), at the 7:59 mark.

Stonehill stretched the lead to 6-4 at 8:15, as sophomore attack Rebecca Matheson found the back of the net. Franklin Pierce later scored twice in a span of 1:53 to surge to a 6-6 tie. Raposa struck first, with 17:55 to play, for her second point of the night, while Gauvin finished off her three-goal showing with 16:02 to play.

Suddenly on the ropes against an opponent it had never lost to, Stonehill responded 54 seconds after the Gauvin goal, when Matheson struck again, this time finishing off a feed from junior midfielder Lizzie Lane. Junior attack Cassandra McGill followed up 3:52 later with what turned out to be the game-winning goal, as Stonehill pushed the lead to 8-6.

The Ravens would close within a goal again, at 8-7, with 8:32 to play, as junior attack Madeline Shopshire (Hyannis, Mass.) struck for her team-leading 14th goal of the season. Franklin Pierce put four more shots on net over the final 8:32, including a pair from Beville and one from Shopshire, but could not solve Stonehill junior goalkeeper Ashley Armstrong again to score the equalizer.

Junior goalkeeper Julia Coakley (Bridgewater, Mass.) minded the net for Franklin Pierce and made four saves while taking the loss (2-4). Armstrong finished with 11 stops to pick up the win (3-3) between the pipes for Stonehill

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, March 29, when they remain home to host Southern Connecticut State in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Sodexo Field.

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).