RINDGE, N.H. (3/6/23) – On was a seasonable Monday evening, the Franklin Pierce women's lacrosse team went toe-to-toe with the University of New Haven in their first in-conference matchup of the season. However, the Chargers kept persistent pressure on the Ravens throughout the night, and forced them to a 20-8 loss at Sodexo Field.

The setback drops the Ravens down to 1-2 (0-1 NE10) on the season, while the Chargers remain perfect at 2-0 (1-0 NE10) following the win.

Through the opening five minutes of the first quarter, the Ravens showed some early offensive dominance. Junior attacker Olivia Delonais (North Andover, Mass.) would open the scoring less than a minute into the frame following a feed from out high by fellow junior Kayli Hoefs (Amsterdam, N.Y.), making it a 1-0 game. Later on, Delonais would add her second goal of the quarter following a score by sophomore Emily UImer (Bedford, N.H.), giving Pierce the 3-1 edge through the first five.

However, New Haven would have other plans to close out the first quarter, and would put up four unanswered goals to claim a 5-3 lead heading into the second.

Things would get off to a rather sluggish start for both teams in the second quarter, until Kayli Hoefs would snag her team-leading eighth goal of the season at 11:24 of the period to pull Pierce to within one. However, New Haven would begin to make quick work off the draw and keep the Ravens pinned down in their own end, eventually outscoring the hosts by a 4-1 margin the rest of the way through the quarter.

In the second half, New Haven took complete control of the game with a pair of overwhelming runs, with the first comprised of five unanswered goals, staking the Chargers to a double-up lead of 14-7. Their advantage would only grow from there on out, as the fourth quarter saw the charge continue with six consecutive goals to close out the game, including one with .06 seconds left. For their Ravens' final three goals, senior attacker Gabrielle Oswald (Nedrow, N.Y.) would notch two in the half, while Kayli Hoefs finished the scoring for the night with her second of the game, and ninth of the season.

In goal, senior Erin Blake (Southborough, Mass.) took the loss for the Ravens, making 14 saves on an astonishing 34 shots faced to move to 1-2 on the campaign.

Franklin Pierce women's lacrosse will host Bentley University this coming Thursday (3/9) in their second conference clash of the season, with game time set for 4:00 p.m.