RINDGE, N.H. (September 26, 2018) – Stonehill became the first opponent to take a lead on the No. 19 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team this season, with a goal in just the third minute on Wednesday night at Sodexo Field. It would be enough to test the Ravens early, but not nearly enough to test them through the duration. Franklin Pierce tied the game before halftime, struck in the first minute of the second half and added an insurance marker just inside the final half-hour to storm to a 3-1 win in the Northeast-10 Conference contest.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 7-0-0 (6-0-0 NE10), while Stonehill falls to 6-3-0 (3-3-0 NE10). Franklin Pierce has matched its best start since 2004, when the Ravens also won their first seven, on the way to an appearance in the national quarterfinals.

Stonehill controlled possession out of the gate on Wednesday night, and was able to pop an early tally to force Franklin Pierce to face its first deficit of the season. In just the third minute, sophomore forward Kayla Henry made a power move down the left-wing side to create a shooting lane on the outside of her defender. She put her left foot into the ball as she reached the top of the penalty area and put it over the head of Franklin Pierce junior goalkeeper Carmen Proffitt (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to open the scoring. It was Henry's second goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce generated a pair of early chances to equalize. In the 13^th minute, junior forward Veronica Marques (Sao Paulo, Brazil) played a through ball for junior midfielder Gabi Pereira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), but a hustling defender was able to track back and break up the play. In the 21^st minute, sophomore forward Caitlin Ryan (Hull, Mass.) had the ball and a shooting lane on the left side of the box, approximately 16 yards from goal, but put her shot off the outside of the net.

The Ravens would eventually get things even before halftime, as senior midfielder Nathalia Maria da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) found the net in the 41^st minute. She was able to get on the other end of another through ball by Marques, who had played the pass from outside the top of the box. The finish went inside the right post, as da Silva slotted home her team-leading seventh goal of the season from near the penalty spot.

It took only 45 seconds on the other side of halftime for the Ravens to take the lead for good. With possession just outside the top of the penalty area on the left side, Pereira opened a shooting lane and curled a shot over the reach of Stonehill junior goalkeeper Kaitlin Brown and into the far side of the net. It was Pereira's second goal of the season, and came just as rain began to fall early in the second period.

Franklin Pierce was able to tack on an insurance marker in the 62^nd minute, after a foul to break up a play on the left-wing side of the box led to a penalty kick. Marques took the penalty and buried it into the lower-right corner for her sixth goal of the campaign.

Stonehill had two chances to cut into the deficit, back-to-back in the 73^rd minute, but would convert on neither. First, a through ball intended for Henry nearly connected inside the top of the box, but Proffitt read the play well and was able to charge off her line to smother the threat. A defensive breakdown on the ensuing attempt to clear left Henry with a vacant goal from the right side, but she pumped her shot into the outside of the net.

Neither team would threaten seriously the rest of the way, as the rain picked up in the final 15 minutes, and Franklin Pierce went on to the 3-1 victory.

Proffitt (3-0-0) finished with two saves against three shots on goal to pick up the win in front of the Franklin Pierce net. Brown (4-3-0) made nine saves against 12 shots on goal and suffered the loss at the other end of the field for Stonehill. Franklin Pierce piled up advantages of 22-10 in shot attempts and 12-3 in shots on goal on the night.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 29, when they remain home to host Assumption in an NE10 contest. Game time 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 (https://www.fpuravens.com). 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 (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).