MANCHESTER, N.H. (March 24, 2018) – With a free-position goal 10:05 into the first half, senior midfielder Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) became just the third player in the history of the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team to tally 200 career points. Sweeney finished the day with eight points on seven goals and one assist, but it would not be enough for the Ravens, who fell behind 7-2 early and never recovered in an 18-14 loss on the road to Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play at Penmen Stadium.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 2-4 (0-4 NE10), while Southern New Hampshire improves to 2-6 (1-3 NE10).

Franklin Pierce would score the first two goals of the game on Saturday. Sweeney would strike twice in the first minute, both unassisted, to take the early lead. However, SNHU would answer with the next seven goals, over a span of 8:35, to take the lead for good. Senior midfielder Alexa Bedell scored twice and had an assist in the run, while junior attack Alexis Felt scored twice. The Penmen capitalized on some card trouble for Franklin Pierce with back-to-back man-up goals, from senior midfielder Kennedy Daziel and Felt, to cap the run and give SNHU a five-goal lead less than 10 minutes in.

Sweeney finally stopped the onslaught with another pair of goals, including the milestone marker, which cut the gap to 7-4 with 19:55 still remaining in the first half. It was part of a run of four straight goals for the Ravens, who closed the gap all the way down to 7-6, but SNHU tallied four of the half's final seven goals to take an 11-9 lead into halftime.

Franklin Pierce closed to gap to one goal on two occasions in the second half. Sophomore attack Bella Lima (Hudson, Mass.) opened the stanza by finishing off an assist from senior midfielder Briana Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) to make it 11-10 just 23 seconds in. Later, Caitlin Sweeney put home another free-position attempt to cut the SNHU lead to 13-12 with 23:39 remaining.

The Ravens would get no closer, however. SNHU scored four of the next five goals, including two more from Bedell, who added the third man-up goal of the day for the Penmen in the process. A free-position goal from sophomore midfielder Merry Harrington staked SNHU to a 17-13 lead with 11:59 to play. Each team would strike once in the final 10 minutes, as the Penmen came away with the 18-14 win.

Caitlin Sweeney (7-1-8) did most of the damage for Franklin Pierce offensively, while freshman midfielder Zoe Totland (Salt Lake City, Utah) (3-0-3) and Briana Sweeney (2-1-3) added three points each. No other Raven tallied more than one point. Briana Sweeney led all players with six draw controls, while the Sweeney sisters each nabbed three ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Madison Murray (Berkley, Mich.) led the team in the latter category, with four ground balls. Briana Sweeney caused a pair of turnovers.

SNHU had three players with at least five points on the afternoon, led by Bedell (5-1-6), who was followed by Felt (4-1-5) and Harrington (4-1-5). Daziel picked up four ground balls to lead the team, while Bedell and Harrington collected five draw controls apiece.

Murray (0-2) finished with 12 saves against 30 shots on goal in defeat for Franklin Pierce. Junior netminder Leah Olansky (2-6) stopped 18 of 32 shots to pick up the win in the SNHU crease.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, March 28, when they travel to Bentley for an NE10 contest. Game time is set for 3 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.

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).