RINDGE, N.H. (March 25, 2017) – With weather conditions rapidly deteriorating, scoring stalled out in the second half on Saturday afternoon at Sodexo Field. In the end, the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team would come up one goal short in a Northeast-10 Conference affair. Saint Anselm made back-to-back goals early in the half from junior midfielder Erica Mattila and junior attack Meaghan Sheehy stand up for an 11-10 win.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 2-3 (0-3 NE10), while Saint Anselm improves to 4-4 (2-2 NE10).

The first half featured the vast majority of the day's scoring on Saturday, as each team put home eight goals in the opening 30 minutes. Neither team would lead by more than two goals in the first half, which featured six ties and three lead changes. Saint Anselm used a stretch where it scored four of five goals to take the largest lead of the half, 7-5, as junior midfielder Emma Palumbo finished off a feed from Sheehy with 7:39 to play.

Franklin Pierce answered with three of the first half's final four goals to surge to an 8-8 tie heading into the break. Junior attack Julia Miller (Westfield, Mass.) twice put away feeds from junior midfielder Briana Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.), while senior defender Taylor Wilkinson (Wallingford, Conn.) capped the scoring run with her first collegiate goal, to make it 8-8 with 64 seconds remaining in the half. Wilkinson forced a turnover, scooped up the ground ball and took it the other way herself, ultimately forcing a one-on-one situation up the middle for the finish.

The two teams traded a goal each in the first four minutes of the second half, moving the score to 9-9, before Saint Anselm struck for two straight to take the lead for good. Mattila struck for an unassisted marker 7:32 into the period, while Sheehy followed 33 seconds later with a high shot past the goalkeeper for the last of her four goals on the afternoon.

From there, scoring skidded to a stop as snow began to fall harder and conditions continued to deteriorate. The next 20 minutes went without another goal, before the Ravens cut the gap to 11-10 with just 61 seconds to play. Junior attack Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) earned a free-position attempt and put her shot past three defenders to make it a one-goal game.

Franklin Pierce would win the ensuing draw control to earn a chance to tie the contest. Junior defender Megan Schaeffer (Brookhaven, N.Y.) had the best opportunity for the Ravens, but put her shot wide. Franklin Pierce reclaimed possession, but could not find another look at the net, before the Hawks forced a late turnover to hold on for the 11-10 win.

Caitlin Sweeney led the Ravens offensively with four goals, while Miller followed with a hat trick. Briana Sweeney chipped in three assists and nabbed a game-best five draw controls. Senior defender Leana Richards (Queensbury, N.Y.) and Wilkinson led the team with four ground balls each, while Wilkinson also forced three turnovers, without turning the ball over.

For Saint Anselm, Sheehy put together a seven-point afternoon (4-3-7) to lead the way, while Mattila added three goals. Senior defender Liv Connly picked up three ground balls, while junior midfielder Marta Versprille collected four draw controls.

Senior goalkeeper Denise Hunt (Hull, Mass.) finished with nine saves against 20 shots on goal and suffered the loss (2-3) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. Meanwhile, junior Zoie Cavotta (4-4) stopped five of 15 shots and picked up the win at the other end for Saint Anselm.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, March 29, when they travel to Saint Michael's for an NE10 contest. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. at Duffy Field in Colchester, Vt.

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).