SYRACUSE, N.Y. (March 22, 2022) -- Three different players tallied at least five points on Tuesday at Sodexo Field, as No. 6 nationally ranked Le Moyne rolled to a 23-9 victory over the home-standing Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team in Northeast-10 Conference play. Seniors Megyn Ayotte (Guilford, Vt.) and Savannah Ernst (American Fork, Utah) both had hat tricks in defeat for the Ravens. Graduate students Sydney Meagher (3-3-6) and Erin McMullen (5-1-6) led the way for Le Moyne.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 0-5 (0-3 NE10), while Le Moyne improves to 4-2 (1-1 NE10).

The first half was competitive, and both teams came out firing in a first quarter which ended in a 7-4 advantage for Le Moyne. The Dolphins opened up an early 2-0 lead when sophomore Sarah Hutchings found McMullen in transition, but Franklin Pierce answered shortly thereafter and capitalized on a card when Ayotte buried a free-position from the left side. Later, Ayotte found a loose ball out front and finished it off to cut the deficit to 5-4 with two minutes remaining, but two in the final 67 seconds of the quarter from McMullen made it a three-goal game.

In the second quarter, back-to-back goals from Ernst, the first from right out front and the second off a free-position on the left side, closed the gap to 8-6 with 10:48 remaining in the half. It was four straight goals from Le Moyne from there though, capped by a loose-ball finish out front by senior Adrianna Nojaim, to balloon the lead back out to 12-6. Graduate student Jenna Cimbron (Bristol, R.I.) struck from the right side with 10 seconds to play to make it 12-7 heading into the intermission.

The second half was all Le Moyne though. The Dolphins posted a 4-1 advantage in the third, with all four goals coming in the final five minutes of the quarter to make it an eight-goal game (16-8). Le Moyne then ran up a 7-1 margin in the fourth quarter to create the 23-9 final.

For Franklin Pierce, beyond the three goals apiece from Ayotte and Ernst, senior Morgan Baxendale (Orchard Park, N.Y.) was the only other multiple-point scorer, with 1-1-2. Graduate student Caroline Lounsbury (Franklin, Mass.) snagged a team-best five draw controls.

It was a busy day offensively for Le Moyne, as Meagher (3-3-6), McMullen (5-1-6) and Nojaim (5-0-5) all add at least five points, while senior Jessica Meneilly chipped in four goals along the way, and the Dolphins piled up a 44-23 edge in shot attempts, including a 36-20 margin in shots on goal. McMullen led all players with nine draw controls, while Nojaim collected a game-high four ground balls and added five draws of her own for good measure.

Junior goalkeeper Erin Blake (Southborough, Mass.) finished with 13 saves against 36 shots on her goal in the loss (0-5) for Franklin Pierce. Junior Paige Crandall (4-2) played the first 48-plus minutes in the Le Moyne crease and made eight saves against 17 shots to pick up the win.

The Ravens hit the road on Saturday, for an NE10 contest at Southern New Hampshire, at noon in Manchester, N.H.