Beville (3-3-6), B. Sweeney (5-0-5) lead way

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (March 17, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team nearly saw a 12-6 halftime lead evaporate at GCU Track & Field Complex on Tuesday afternoon, but the defense locked things down in the final eight minutes, as the Ravens procured a 14-12 win over Georgian Court. Senior midfielder Lauren Beville (Jamesville, N.Y.) piled up six points (3-3-6) to lead the way offensively for Franklin Pierce.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-0, while Georgian Court falls to 0-5. For the Ravens, it is the program's first 3-0 start since 2011.

After the teams split the game's first eight goals over the opening 17 minutes to forge a 4-4 tie, Franklin Pierce rattled off six straight goals late in the first half, a run which would stand as the difference on the afternoon. The six goals came in a stretch of just 5:30 and featured five different goal scorers, with sophomore attack Anna Wilbert (Bohemia, N.Y.) scoring a pair. Beville had three points in the 6-0 run (1-2-3), while sophomore midfielder Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) added a goal and an assist. Georgian Court got goals from freshman midfielder Taylor Bauerband and junior attack Melissa Williams in the final five minutes to cut the gap to 10-6 heading into halftime.

Over the first 13:09 of the second half, the two teams split six more goals, with sophomore midfielder Briana Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) putting home two of her team-high five markers in the stretch. With 16:51 to play, junior attack Silvetta Agosto cut the gap to 13-9, and Briana Sweeney answered 80 seconds later, to make it a 14-9 Franklin Pierce lead with 15:31 remaining.

The Lions would mount a comeback attempt from there. Sophomore attack Kayanna Chandler put away a free-position shot with 13:17 to play to make it 14-10. Williams followed with the last of her five goals with 11:55 to play to cut the lead to 14-11. Williams then set up Samantha Fernandez with 8:24 remaining to close the gap all the way down to 14-12.

The Franklin Pierce defense took control from there. Georgian Court would manage only three shot attempts over the final 8:24, with none of the three being on-target and two being blocked by the defense before they could even get to the cage.

For the Ravens, Beville (3-3-6) and Briana Sweeney (5-0-5) did the heavy lifting offensively, while Caitlin Sweeney chipped in 1-2-3 along the way. Briana Sweeney picked up a team-best five ground balls, while Caitlin Sweeney added four more and each Sweeney sister caused a pair of turnovers. Senior attack Nicole Beliveau (Westfield, Mass.) corralled five draw controls.

For Georgian Court, Williams led all players with seven points (5-2-7) on the day and was the only Lion to tally three or more points in the game. Freshman midfielder Xena Valenzuela picked up three ground balls, while Chandler collected five draw controls.

Junior goalkeeper Denise Hunt (Hull, Mass.) made four saves against 16 shots on goal to pick up the win (3-0) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. Junior netminder Stephanie Lehner (0-5) picked up nine saves against 23 shots in a losing effort at the other end of the field.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, March 19, when they return home to open Northeast-10 Conference play against Stonehill. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

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).