Wilbert, Lounsbury Lead Way as Women’s Lacrosse Dispatches STAC, 18-8

Wilbert, Lounsbury Lead Way as Women’s Lacrosse Dispatches STAC, 18-8

RINDGE, N.H. (March 12, 2018) – Senior attack Anna Wilbert (Bohemia, N.Y.) collected six points on two goals and four assists, while freshman attack Caroline Lounsbury (Franklin, Mass.) added four goals and an assist of her own on Monday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team chalked up an 18-8 win over visiting St. Thomas Aquinas. Freshman midfielder Maddie Hasson (Newington, Conn.) scored four times as well for the Ravens, while junior midfielder Jennifer Farrell led the Spartans with two goals and two assists in the non-conference contest at Sodexo Field.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 2-0, while St. Thomas Aquinas falls to 2-3.

The Ravens jumped out front early and never looked back. Wilbert opened the scoring just 54 seconds into the proceedings to kick off an early 4-0 run. She later found freshman midfielder Zoe Totland (Salt Lake City, Utah) cutting across the front of the net from right to left for the finish to cap the run 8:19 into the game.

St. Thomas Aquinas netted back-to-back tallies from senior attack Caroline Finnen and freshman midfielder Arielle Rodriguez to cut the gap to 4-2, but Franklin Pierce seized control of the game from there. The Ravens put home seven of the half's final nine goals to stretch the lead all the way out to 11-4 at the intermission. Senior midfielder Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) struck twice in the run, while Wilbert added a goal and an assist. Sweeney capped the first-half scoring when she took a feed from Wilbert on the right side and put a shot into the top-right corner of the net.

Franklin Pierce pushed the lead as high as 14-4 by striking for the first three scores of the second half as well, to make it seven straight goals for the crimson and grey. Lounsbury popped two of the three goals to round out her four-goal day, while Wilbert chipped in another assist.

The Spartans notched four of the next six goals, but ultimately ran out of time. Totland and sophomore attack Bella Lima (Hudson, Mass.) scored in the final three minutes for Franklin Pierce to cap the scoring and create the 18-8 final.

Sweeney led Franklin Pierce with four ground balls on the day, while senior defender Megan Schaeffer (Brookhaven, N.Y.) collected three in her season debut. Senior midfielder Briana Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) nabbed five first-half draw controls and led all players in that category, despite being disqualified just before the end of the first stanza after picking up her second yellow card of the afternoon. Briana Sweeney also caused a team-best three turnovers, while Totland added four draw controls of her own.

Junior defender Samantha Rifice and senior defender Claudia Dorcely picked up two ground balls each to lead St. Thomas Aquinas, while Farrell and sophomore attack Kaitlyn Gutenberger snagged four draw controls each. Rifice caused three turnovers for the Spartans, who forced only six turnovers as a team, while turning the ball over 21 times.

Sophomore goalkeeper Casey Butera (West Milford, N.J.) finished with seven saves against 15 shots on goal to pick up the win (2-0) in net for Franklin Pierce.

Junior netminder Katherine Feigenbaum (1-2) played the first half in goal for St. Thomas Aquinas and finished with just three saves against 14 shots on goal while taking the loss. Fellow junior Laura Delorenzo took over for the start of the second half and made six saves against 13 shots the rest of the way.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, March 14, when they travel to Adelphi to open the Northeast-10 Conference portion of their schedule. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Motamed Field in Garden City, N.Y.

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).