L'Heureux scores lone goal for Ravens

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 16, 2010) – Junior forward Lauren L'Heureux (Sanford, Maine) scored a first-half goal on Tuesday afternoon, but the sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce University field hockey team was defeated, 2-1, at third-seeded and No. 10 nationally ranked American International in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship at Ronald J. Abdow Field. Junior forward Amanda McLean scored both goals in the win for AIC.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce concludes its season at 9-10, while American International improves to 14-6 and advances to face second-seeded Stonehill in the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship on Friday at Massachusetts Lowell.

The Ravens broke the ice just less than 16 minutes into the contest. After a shot from the top of the circle was stopped by AIC junior goalkeeper Kim Steiner, the rebound fell right to the stick of L'Heureux. She sent it back where it came from and found the back of the cage for her second goal of the season.

American International would answer with 6:21 to play in the half to tie the game at 1-1 heading into halftime. In a play similar to the Franklin Pierce goal, a shot from the left side was stopped by Ravens junior goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro, Mass.). However, the rebound fell to McLean, who knocked home her 17th goal of the season.

After most of the second half went scoreless, American International jumped to the 2-1 lead with 12:35 to play. Again it was McLean cleaning up the garbage, as she stuffed home a rebound of her own shot for her second goal of the afternoon. Franklin Pierce pulled the goalkeeper in the final minutes of play and earned a penalty corner inside the final 40 seconds, but the AIC defense was able to keep the ball out of the cage to preserve the victory.

Nyzio made one save and took the loss (8-9) in front of the Franklin Pierce cage. Steiner stopped five shots to pick up the win (13-5) between the pipes for AIC.

It was a tail of two halves, as Franklin Pierce held an 8-5 shots advantage in the first half, though AIC held a 9-5 edge in the second half to total a 14-13 advantage for the game. Franklin Pierce tallied six shots on goal, compared to three for American International, though AIC earned 10 penalty corners against five for the Ravens.

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).