RINDGE, N.H. (April 25, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team held its own with No. 15 nationally ranked Merrimack over the final 42 minutes on Wednesday night at Sodexo Field. Unfortunately for the Ravens, Merrimack used the opening 18 minutes to build a 9-0 lead, which was never seriously threatened the rest of the way, as the Warriors cruised to a 21-14 win in Northeast-10 Conference play.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-8 (4-8 NE10) and is officially eliminated from contention for a spot in the NE10 Championship. With the win, Merrimack improves to 12-4 (9-3 NE10) and has locked up home-field advantage in the first round of the NE10 Championship, as the Warriors can finish no worse than fourth.

Merrimack took control of the game immediately out of the gate on Tuesday night. Over the opening 17:30, the Warriors poured in the game's first nine goals, and they would never look back. Freshman attack Haley Bartlett scored three times in the run, while sophomore attack Ally DaCosta dished out a pair of assists and senior midfielder Annette Ruggiero chipped in a goal and an assist.

Franklin Pierce actually outscored Merrimack 14-12 the rest of the way, but could never put together a sustained run to close the gap and get back in the game. Senior midfielder Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) scored three times in the second half, as part of a nine-point night (4-5-9), which matched her career high. Still, after taking the 9-0 lead, Merrimack would later push the lead as high as 10 goals, and never led by less than seven the rest of the way.

Sweeney's nine points led all players, but she was also one of only three Ravens to tally more than two points, as senior attack Julia Miller (Westfield, Mass.) scored four goals and senior attack Anna Wilbert (Bohemia, N.Y.) added three points on two goals and an assist. Franklin Pierce was able to win 23 of 37 draws, and Sweeney led the way by corralling nine of them, while freshman attack Caroline Lounsbury (Franklin, Mass.) nabbed five. Freshman midfielder Zoe Totland (Salt Lake City, Utah) and senior goalkeeper Madison Murray (Berkley, Mich.) picked up two ground balls each.

For Merrimack, Bartlett scored five times and DaCosta matched her with five points of her own on a goal and four assists. The duo led five Warriors with more than two points, as Ruggiero (3-1-4), freshman midfielder Meghan Dzialo (3-1-4) and junior attack Amber Feminella (3-0-3) all found the score sheet at least three times. Merrimack had nine different players score at least one goal on the night. Senior defender Carly McKenna led the team with four draw controls.

Defensively, freshman midfielder Kelsey Daly led Merrimack by piling up seven caused turnovers, as Franklin Pierce committed 21 total turnovers on the night. Daly also added a game-best five ground balls, while sophomore defender Courtney Capobianco picked up four of her own.

Murray (4-6) finished with eight saves against 26 shots on goal over a total of 48:38 across two stints in the Franklin Pierce cage. Sophomore goalkeeper Casey Butera (West Milford, Conn.) logged the remaining 11:22 and made two saves against five shots. At the other end of the field, junior netminder Lauren Trepaney (8-1) made 10 saves against 24 shots on goal to pick up the win for Merrimack.

The Ravens return to the field to wrap up their season on Saturday, April 28, when they travel to Pace for an NE10 contest. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Pace Stadium in Pleasantville, 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).