RINDGE, N.H. (2/22/23) – The Franklin Pierce women's lacrosse program picked up their first win of the 2023 season, defeating the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 15-10.

With the win, the Ravens move to 1-1 on the season, while the Mountain Lions drop to 0-2 on their season opening northeastern tour.

The Ravens faced an early challenge after opening the scoring, falling behind 3-1 over the first 7:33 of play. However, that was no issue for Pierce, as they responded in the final three minutes with a pair of goals by junior Kayli Hoefs (Amsterdam, N.Y.), to tie the game at 3-3 with 10 seconds remaining. For good measure, sophomore Emily Ulmer (Bedford, N.H.) would score her first of the season with less than a second left, sending Pierce into the second with a 4-3 lead.

After scoring the games first goal in the previous quarter, senior Katelyn Hadden (Newburyport, Mass.) repeated with her second of the contest less than 30-seconds in, putting Pierce ahead 6-4. Colorado Springs would respond with a goal just moments after the lead-extender by Hadden, but would run into bigger problems as Pierce pulled further away with two-straight strikes between Kayli Hoefs and sophomore Hayley Hermsdorf (Center Moriches, N.Y.). Hoefs, before the expiration of the half, would add another goal with 2:54 left, which would then be followed by Katelyn Hadden's third of the contest at 1:39, to bring the Ravens into halftime with a 9-5 lead in hand. Through the first 30-minutes, the Ravens outshot the Moutain Lions 20-15, and held an 8-5 edge in draw controls.

Colorado Springs came to within one with a four-goal third quarter, outscoring the Ravens 4-1 in total. Hayley Hermsdorf was the lone point producer of the period for the Ravens, scoring her second of the game to preserve the Raven lead at 10-9.

The Ravens stretched their lead back to four goals with three-consecutive stikes to begin the fourth quarter, beginning with Kayli Hoefs fifth of the game 40 seconds in. Two minutes later, Emily Ulmer would convert on a free position attempt for her second of the contest, which would later be followed by Katelyn Hadden's fourth of the day three minutes after that. Before the end of the game, both Ulmer and Hadden would add one more goal each to bring their totals to three and five respectively, finalizing the final score at 15-10.

Kayli Hoefs' five-goal performance was the best of her collegiate career, as she has now scored seven on the season. For Katelyn Hadden, her five goals match a previous career-best from last season, as she also tacked on a pair of helpers in the effort. Hayley Hermsdorf, in addition to two goals, would lead both teams with three total assists, while Emily Ulmer led all field players with five total ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Erin Blake (Southborough, Mass.) would claim the win in net for Pierce, moving to 1-1 on the season. 

Women's lacrosse will open Northeast-10 play on Saturday, March 4^th against the University of New Haven