RINDGE, N.H. (September 1, 2017) – In her Ravens debut, sophomore midfielder Gabi Pereira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) buried a 13^th-minute penalty kick and a 51^st-minute free kick at Sodexo Field on Friday night, scoring twice to lead the way for the Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team in a 3-1, season-opening win over Caldwell in non-conference play. The win marked the first NCAA victory for first-year head coach Jonathan Garbar.

With the win, the Ravens open the season at 1-0-0 and have won their opening game for the fourth year in a row. With the loss, Caldwell opens its campaign at 0-1-0.

Pereira, who is one of six new Ravens who previously played for Garbar at Monroe College, figured prominently in her coach's first win in Rindge. Pereira's two goals were the only offense through the game's first hour, and her first strike was the only tally of the opening stanza.

Franklin Pierce was awarded a penalty kick in the 13^th minute, after Caldwell was whistled for handling the ball inside the penalty area. Pereira went to the lower-left corner with her shot and drove it past the dive of Caldwell sophomore goalkeeper Daniela Lucca.

Just four minutes later, in the 17^th minute, the Ravens nearly made it 2-0. Sophomore forward Sophie Cousineau (Milton, Mass.) found room to get off a shot from the left-wing, which cleanly beat Lucca high. However, the ball rang off the underside of the crossbar, then banged off the far post and stayed out of the goal, before being cleared away by the Caldwell defense.

Pereira eventually doubled the lead on a free kick in the 51^st minute. Standing over the ball about 25 yards out on the left side, she blasted her shot over the wall and coaxed it down just enough to evade the leap of Lucca, bang the bottom of the crossbar and wind up in the net for her second goal of the night.

Caldwell cut the deficit in half in the 68^th minute, as a midfield breakdown led to an odd-man rush into the offensive third for the Cougars. Freshman midfielder Teaghan Darling took the initial shot on the play, from the middle of the field. Diving to her right, Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Casey Cook (Beverly, Mass.) got her hands to the shot, but could not hold it, as the ball trickled behind her and towards the left post. Junior forward Kaitlyn Elias was on the scene and cleaned up the rebound to get Caldwell on the board.

Another shot off the crossbar and in provided some insurance for Franklin Pierce in the 81^st minute and created the 3-1 final. On a rush up the middle of the field, junior midfielder Bruna Tavares (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) played the ball to Cousineau, who held the ball and drew a defender, before laying a pass back and off towards the left wing for sophomore midfielder Kiley Vermette (Enfield, Conn.). Vermette stepped into her shot and unloaded from 25 yards. Much like Pereira earlier in the half, Vermette's shot beat Lucca high, hit the crossbar and wound up in the goal.

Cook (1-0-0) finished with four saves against five shots on goal to pick up the win in net for the Ravens. Lucca (0-1-0) piled up 11 saves against 14 shots on her net, but suffered the loss in front of the Caldwell goal.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, Sept. 6, when they travel to Bentley for a non-conference contest. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. in Waltham, 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).