Debler, Baillargeon score 2:55 apart to key rally

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 3, 2009) – Junior midfielder Jordan Baillargeon (Westfield, Mass.) broke a 1-1 tie with the game-winning goal with 18:08 to play in regulation on Saturday night to lead the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over American International in non-conference play at R.J. Abdow Field. Graduate student forward Jacki Lapointe scored the lone goal of the game for AIC.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 6-6 (2-2 Northeast-10), while American International falls to 3-9 (2-4 Northeast-10) with the loss.

American International would score early in the contest to tally the only goal of the game’s first half. Lapointe would net her team-leading sixth goal of the season, unassisted, just 3:50 into the contest. It would prove to be the only goal of the game for the Yellow Jackets.

Franklin Pierce held the edge in the first half, with a 7-4 shots advantage, while each team was awarded two penalty corners.

Franklin Pierce drew even 13:57 into the second half. Senior forward Katie Debler (Walpole, Mass.) posted her first goal of the season off a feed from sophomore forward Lauren L’Heureux (Sanford, Maine) to tie the game at 1-1. For L’Heureux, it marked the first assist of her collegiate career, just one game after her first career goal.

The Ravens did not wait long to take the 2-1 lead they would hold the rest of the way. Just 2:55 after Debler’s goal, Baillargeon stuffed a rebound into the back of the cage for her second goal of the season, an unassisted tally which would be the game-winner.

Franklin Pierce held a dominant edge on the stats sheet in the second half, as they ran up a 12-4 advantage in shots and a 4-1 edge in penalty corners. The Ravens held advantages of 19-6 and 6-3 in those categories, respectively, over the course of the game.

Sophomore goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro, Mass.) made three saves against four shots to earn the win (5-5) in net for Franklin Pierce. Sophomore goalkeeper Kim Steiner stopped 13 of the 15 shots the Ravens peppered her with, but took the loss (3-9) between the pipes for American International.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, Oct. 7, when they return home to host Stonehill in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge, N.H.