Strong First Half, Balanced Attack Lead Women’s Lacrosse to 13-9 Triumph at Saint Michael’s

COLCHESTER, Vt. (March 29, 2017) – The Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team jumped out to a 6-3 first-half lead on Wednesday afternoon, and used the advantage to pull out a 13-9 road victory over Saint Michael's in Northeast-10 Conference play at Duffy Field. The Ravens utilized a balanced attack, with juniors Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.), Briana Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) and Anna Wilbert (Bohemia, N.Y.) all tallying at least three goals. Freshman midfielder Kaelyn Oliver led the way with three goals in defeat for Saint Michael's.

With the win, Franklin Pierce evens its record at 3-3 (1-3 NE10), while Saint Michael's falls to 1-4 (0-4 NE10).

Franklin Pierce jumped out of the gate with three of the game's first four goals, to take a lead the team would never relinquish. Wilbert struck first, off an assist from Caitlin Sweeney, while Briana Sweeney then sandwiched a pair of goals around a free-position tally from Saint Michael's junior attack Kealy Moyna. Briana Sweeney's second goal gave the Ravens a 3-1 lead 10:35 into the proceedings.

Moyna set up fellow junior attack Emily Byrne to cut the gap to 3-2, but then the Sweeney twins put home back-to-back free-position shots -- first Caitlin and then Briana -- just 87 seconds apart. Caitlin Sweeney would later cap the first-half scoring and tally her third point of the day to give Franklin Pierce a 6-3 lead with 4:03 to play. The three-goal advantage would hold through halftime for the crimson and grey.

Saint Michael's opened the second-half scoring with a free-position goal from sophomore attack Alex Vincent to cut the gap to 6-4 with 22:43 to play, but it was as close as the Purple Knights would get. Wilbert put away a man-up goal just 35 seconds later, which sparked a 3-0 spurt, which would then expand to a 5-1 run for the Ravens.

Wilbert set up a goal, then struck again, before an Oliver free-position strike cut the gap to 9-5 with 18:24 to go. From there, it was back-to-back goals by Caitlin Sweeney -- the first of which came on a free-position -- which stretched the lead to 11-5 and all but put the game out of reach with 14:41 to play. After Briana Sweeney and junior Julia Miller (Westfield, Mass.) put away free-position goals, Saint Michael's scored the final three goals of the game, over the final 3:01, to create the 13-9 final.

For Franklin Pierce, Briana Sweeney (4-1-5), Caitlin Sweeney (4-1-5) and Wilbert (3-1-4) accounted for nearly all of the scoring, with no other Raven tallying more than one point. Freshman midfielder Sarah Waldrep (North Andover, Mass.) led all players with seven ground balls, while Caitlin Sweeney collected a game-best nine draw controls. Briana Sweeney led the team with three caused turnovers.

For Saint Michael's, Oliver (3-1-4), Moyna (1-2-3) and Vincent (1-2-3) all had at least three points, while sophomore attack Ellie Clark added a pair of goals. Junior midfielder Ashley Dineen led the Purple Knights with four ground balls, while she and sophomore defender Annie Martin caused three turnovers each.

Senior goalkeeper Denise Hunt (Hull, Mass.) finished with seven saves against 16 shots on goal to pick up the win (3-3) in the crease for Franklin Pierce. At the other end, senior Grace Gunning (1-4) stopped nine of the 22 shots on her net in a losing effort for Saint Michael's.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 1, when -- weather permitting -- they return home to host New Haven in an NE10 contest. Game time is set for 7:15 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).