RINDGE, N.H. (September 14, 2016) – At one end of the field, the game was nearly won, the game-winning goal thwarted by a leaping, sprawling, desperate save. At the other end of the field, the game was won, the game-winning goal created by a misplay on a long free kick. The two shots occurred less than 60 seconds and less than 60 yards apart, but the results, and the emotions they inspired, seemed parsecs apart under the lights on Wednesday night at Sodexo Field. It was senior midfielder Brianna Duserick who would get credit for the game-winning goal, just 95 seconds into overtime, ending what had been an intense Northeast-10 Conference affair, as No. 24 nationally ranked Stonehill defeated the Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team, 2-1, in front of an assembled crowd of 406.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-1-0 (0-1-0 Northeast-10), while Stonehill continues its undefeated start and improves to 5-0-0 (1-0-0 Northeast-10).

With a pair of first-half goals standing as the game's only scoring through regulation, overtime -- which lasted just over a minute-and-a-half -- would feature a high excitement-to-time ratio on Tuesday night. Less than a minute into the extra session, in the 91st minute, Franklin Pierce had a golden -- perhaps platinum -- chance to end the contest. On a counter-attack, sophomore forward Nathalia Maria da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) sent a long ball ahead from the midfield and found freshman forward Sophie Cousineau (Milton, Mass.) just inside the top of the penalty area. Cousineau -- who was harried by the last Stonehill defender -- took one touch to control and put her second touch on net, lofting the ball towards the upper-right corner. The shot seemed destined to win the game, but then Stonehill senior goalkeeper Jamie Block left her feet. Leaping, stretching, diving to her left, Block was somehow able to get her hand to the ball to flag down the shot. Perhaps even more impressively, after crashing back to the Earth, Block was able to collect herself and corral the rebound before Cousineau could get off a follow-up shot.

As it happened in overtime -- when any goal results in a victory -- the save already loomed large. Its import would be amplified less than a minute later, in the 92nd minute, when Stonehill wound up with the overtime winner. On the ensuing Skyhawk possession after the Block save, the Franklin Pierce midfield committed a foul just over 35 yards in front of its own goal, just to the offensive left-wing side of the field. Duserick took the free kick and struck a low, line-drive forward, likely seeking to simply serve the ball up for the Stonehill frontline. Instead, Duserick would wind up the hero when the ball wound up in the back of the net. Franklin Pierce junior goalkeeper Casey Cook (Beverly, Mass.) misjudged the kick, as the ball began to tail back away to her right. As a result of the misread, Cook was unable to get in front of the ball, which one-hopped past her and into the left side of the net for Duserick's first goal of the season, touching off the Stonehill celebration.

Earlier in the day, the teams traded goals just less than 11 minutes apart in the first half. First, in the 11th minute, senior forward Madison Finlay (Plymouth, Mass.) headed her team-leading fourth goal of the season inside the left post to open the scoring. Finlay finished from the top of the six-yard box, in front of the left post, by getting her head to a cross from the left side by Cousineau, who has tallied 3-1-7 through her first four collegiate games.

Later, in the 22nd minute, Stonehill would equalize, on the third goal of the season for senior forward Lauren Kapatoes. Kapatoes was able to volley the ball over Cook from the top of the 18-yard box on the right side, finishing off a long service from the right-wing side of the midfield by sophomore midfielder Emily Scollard.

Neither team would score over the remaining 65-plus minutes of regulation, setting the stage for the raucous, if brief, overtime period.

In all, Franklin Pierce held the edge in most statistical categories on the night, save for goals. Despite the eventual loss, the Ravens would finish with advantages of 12-7 in shot attempts, 6-3 in shots on goal and 5-1 on corner kicks.

Cook (3-1-0) finished with just one save against three shots on goal in defeat for the Ravens. At the other end of the field, Block (5-0-0) made five saves against six shots on goal to pick up the win for Stonehill.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, Sept. 20, when they travel to Merrimack for a Northeast-10 contest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Martone-Mejail Field in North Andover, Mass.

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).