HIGHLIGHTS

MANCHESTER, N.H. (November 5, 2017) – Franklin Pierce University women's soccer sophomore forward Sophie Cousineau (Milton, Mass.) picked the right match to score her first goal of the year, but the Ravens dropped a 2-1 decision to interstate rival Southern New Hampshire University in the 2017 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Game Sunday afternoon at Larkin Field.

With the win, SNHU completes their year at 14-2-5 overall while the Ravens end the season at 12-4-2. In the first-ever meeting in the title game between these two programs, SNHU captured only their second conference championship in team history and earned the NE10 automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Ravens are still looking for their eighth league title and the first since the 2006 season, which capped off a run of seven consecutive NE10 Championships.

Franklin Pierce, who is currently ranked fifth in the NCAA East Region Regional rankings, waits to see if they earned an at-large bid to the big dance. The NCAA Championship selection show is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Monday and can be viewed on ncaa.com.

Cousineau's tally cut the Raven deficit to one as they fell behind early 2-0. It was their only goal of the match. Miranda Peloquin scored for the Penmen while teammate Trisha Luis added an assist. Raven senior goalkeeper Casey Cook (Beverly, Mass.) made the games only save in the setback. Cook was one of the Raven representatives on the NE10 All-Championship Team along with teammate Veronica Marques (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

After a two-year hiatus, Ravens head coach Jonathan Garbar brought the storied women's soccer program back to the conference tournament in only his first year at the helm. "Congratulations to SNHU's coaching staff and players on today's result" said Garbar. "I am very proud of our program and the manner which we responded to the kind of adversity that would break most teams. Not ours. We will be better because of today's challenge and result just as we have been better after every passing day during our first season together. Also, a huge shout out to the absolute best fans, faculty, athletic department and families in the conference. They absolutely took over the stadium today and have been nothing short of inspirational. We are honored to be Ravens."

The Penmen began the title game fast scoring 1:10 into the contest as senior midfielder Sydney Crema made a quick pass to junior Miranda Peloquin on the left side and she stroked the ball off the left post and into the cage to give the hosts the early 1-0 advantage.

SNHU increased their lead to 2-0 in the 22nd minute as they used an own goal by the Crimson and Grey as a shot from Peloquin was blocked by a Raven players leg and deflected into the net.

Franklin Pierce's first corner kick came 29 minutes into the first stanza. Sophomore midfielder Gabi Pereira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) took the chance from the right side and lofted a high arching kick towards the back left of the box. The Ravens could not get a shot off as the Penmen cleared the ball out of the zone.

The Crimson and Grey finally broke through in the 32nd minute as junior Bruna Tavares (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) crossed the ball from left to right. Penmen netminder Paige Salmon made a diving attempt to stifle the cross, but the ball clanked off her hand right to Sophie Cousineau. Cousineau stared at an open cage with Salmon on the ground and she chipped the ball from five yards out to put the Ravens within one, 2-1.

With three minutes to go before the intermission, Pereira ripped a shot from 20 yards out that barely went wide of the top right corner of the net to keep the Ravens deficit at one.

The Ravens outshot the Penmen 3-to-2 over the first half while the Penmen held the edge in corner kicks (4-to-1).

The second half began with the Ravens having a chance to tie. Junior midfielder Nathalia Maria da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) was a few yards out and rocketed a shot high and over the top of the net. Midway through the second half, SNHU looked to add to their lead as Abigail Maker led a 4-on-3 charge then smoked a shot right and wide of the cage.

FPU cleared the corner kick attempt and charged down the field. Veronica Marques stole the ball just over midfield and had a one-on-one opportunity with a Penmen defender. Marques swung her leg and stroked a shot attempt that was blocked by the SNHU defense ending the Raven scoring threat.

12 minutes remained in the duel as the Ravens had two golden opportunities to net the equalizer. A foul was called on the Penmen just outside the left of the box. Pereira took the free kick chance and chipped the ball towards the cage, but her attempt was high off the mark. Seconds passed as Pereira had another free-kick this time farther away. Pereira crossed the ball into the box hoping one of her teammates would tally a header. However, the Penmen defensive unit cleared away the scoring threat. In the final minutes of the match SNHU's defense smothered the Ravens offense as they held on for the victory.

With the Ravens trailing 2-1, the majority of the second half was played down in the Penmen defensive end. The Crimson and Grey outshot the hosts 4-to-3 in the final 45 minutes and 7-to-5 over the course of the duel. 24 total fouls were called and three yellow cards were doled out to the Penmen.

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