NYACK, N.Y. (March 4, 2017) – The Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team scored the first seven goals as part of a 13-2 first half and never looked back on Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 16-3, non-conference win over Nyack to open the season. Junior midfielder Briana Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) tallied 6-4-10 in the win, while twin sister Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) added 3-3-6 as the duo combined for 16 points.

With the win, Franklin Pierce opens the season at 1-0, while Nyack falls to 0-2.

The Ravens opened the game on a 7-0 spurt, all but putting the contest away in the first nine minutes. The opening salvo was essentially "The Sweeney Show", as the twins scored six of the seven goals and at least one of the two factored in on each goal. Caitlin Sweeney opened the scoring just 91 seconds into the game, while Briana Sweeney followed by finishing a feed from senior midfielder Kenady Kelly (Plymouth, N.H.) 4:12 in.

Junior Julia Miller (Westfield, Mass.) was the lone non-Sweeney to score in the run, as she put away a pass from Briana Sweeney to make it 3-0 less than five minutes in. The Sweeneys then alternated goals, scoring twice each over a span of 3:32, with Caitlin setting up Briana to cap the 7-0 surge just 8:49 into the contest.

Nyack broke up the run with 16:46 to play in the first half, as senior midfielder Emily Sigmon made it a 7-1 game.

The Ravens answered with five more consecutive goals, pushing the lead up to 12-1. Freshman attackers Ella Brownson (Albany, N.Y.) and Morgan Riley (Jamesville, N.Y.) each scored their first collegiate goal in the surge, while Briana Sweeney added two more goals. Nyack broke up the run again, but Franklin Pierce scored the final goal of the first half -- another Briana Sweeney strike -- to take a 13-2 lead into halftime.

Things slowed down in the second half, with the teams combining for just three goals. Franklin Pierce got scores from junior attack Anna Wilbert (Bohemia, N.Y.) and junior defender Megan Schaeffer (Brookhaven, N.Y.), while Nyack responded with a goal from sophomore midfielder Abby Wilmot.

Defensively, senior defender Colleen Leonardi (Granby, Conn.) led all players with three ground balls, while Briana Sweeney caused a pair of turnovers, though she also committed five of her own. For Nyack, Wilmot picked up two ground balls and caused two turnovers to lead the team in both categories, but also gave away five turnovers of her own.

Senior goalkeeper Denise Hunt (Hull, Mass.) made eight saves against just 11 shots on goal to pick up the win (1-0) in net for Franklin Pierce. Senior netminder Alexandria Bisson (0-2) made only five stops, against 21 shots on goal, while taking the loss at the other end for Nyack.

The Ravens return to the field on Monday, March 13, when they return home to host Shepherd in a non-conference contest. Game time is set for 1 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 lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).