RINDGE, N.H. (September 10, 2016) – A pair of goals from freshman forward Sophie Cousineau (Milton, Mass.) 8:07 apart represented the only offense on Saturday afternoon for the Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team. In the end, Cousineau's first career multiple-goal game was enough for the Ravens to post a 2-1 win over Pace in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both teams at Sodexo Field.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-0-0 (1-0-0 Northeast-10), while Pace falls to 3-1-0 (0-1-0 Northeast-10). Franklin Pierce controlled the run of play throughout the day, to the tune of a 15-3 advantage in shot attempts, a 4-1 edge in shots on goal and an 11-5 margin in corner kicks.

Cousineau opened the scoring with her second goal of the season, in the 32nd minute. Working with the ball in the right side of the penalty area, she was able to find a shooting lane from approximately 16 yards out, and no more than five yards off the end line. Despite the tough angle, Cousineau beat the goalkeeper and tucked her shot inside the far post for her first of two unassisted markers on the day.

Cousineau struck again just 8:07 later, in the 40th minute. This time, the Pace defense broke down, turning the ball over to the freshman at the top of the 18-yard box. Cousineau took the ball around a defender and made a dribbling rush through the left side of the penalty area. From about 10 yards out on the left side, she went far post again, slipping a shot into the right side of the net to give the Ravens a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

The second half went without many scoring opportunities for either side, though it did feature excitement nonetheless. Franklin Pierce's best chance to push the lead to 3-0 came in the 56th minute, in the aftermath of a free kick. Pace junior goalkeeper Aisha Chauhan came off of her line, but could not corral the ball, which trickled towards senior midfielder Nicole Chaet (Tewksbury, Mass.) at the top of the six-yard box. Chaet had to one-time her shot with the defense closing and narrowly put the ball wide outside the right post.

Franklin Pierce would play the final 22 minutes a man short, after an incident in the 68th minute. Both head coach Jeff Bailey and graduate student midfielder Fernanda Marques (Sao Paulo, Brazil) were displeased with a foul call against the latter, which awarded Pace a free kick 35 yards from goal on the right side. Marques' objections earned her a yellow card, which provoked further protestations, which in turn earned her an ejection from the contest.

Despite being a player short, the Franklin Pierce defense held until there was just 1:13 to play, when Pace made it a 2-1 game in the 89th minute. The back line lost track of senior forward Alyssa Zeoli on the left side of the field, and sophomore forward Sophia DeLeon was able to slip her a pass at the top of the box on the left-wing side. Zeoli wasted no time stepping into the ball and put a low shot inside the right post for her second goal of the season.

Despite halving the deficit, Pace was left without enough time to mount a serious threat to equalize, as Franklin Pierce came away with the 2-1 victory.

Junior goalkeeper Casey Cook (Beverly, Mass.) faced just the one shot on goal, which produced the lone Pace goal, as she finished with zero saves, despite earning the win (3-0-0). At the other end of the field, Chauhan (3-1-0) made two saves against four shots on goal while taking the loss for Pace.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, Sept. 14, when they remain home to host Stonehill in a Northeast-10 contest to finish off a four-game, season-opening homestand. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Sodexo Field.

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 soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).