Senior matches own single-season record

RINDGE, N.H. (October 10, 2011) – Senior forward Tia Levins (Manchester, Maine) got behind the goalkeeper and pushed home a shot from junior back Alyssa Juszczyk (Warren, Mass.) that was running out of steam with 55 seconds to play in overtime on Monday afternoon to give the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team a 2-1 victory over American International in Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field. The goal was the 12th of the season for Levins, matching her own single-season program goal-scoring record from a year ago.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 6-8 (3-3 Northeast-10), while American International falls to 8-5 (3-2 Northeast-10).

Franklin Pierce picked up the only goal of the first half off a penalty corner 11:18 into the opening stanza. Freshman midfielder Taylor Libby (Sidney, Maine) injected the ball to senior forward Danielle Dolan (West Brookfield, Mass.) at the top of the circle, and Dolan pushed the ball to the right to senior midfielder Kim Jaksina (Townsend, Mass.). Jaksina found nowhere to go with the ball and dumped it back to her left to junior forward Megan Bird (Laconia, N.H.) at the top of the circle. Bird wound and fired a shot that made its way through traffic, beat AIC senior goalkeeper Kim Steiner and then banged off the left post and into the back of the cage to give the Ravens a 1-0 lead.

From there, the game would go over 55 minutes without another goal, before the Yellow Jackets evened the score at 1-1 with 3:05 to play in regulation. After AIC's play off of a penalty corner broke down, the ball was left in a scramble in front of the net. Junior midfielder Lisa Duckles got her stick to the ball and pushed it to the right of the penalty spot for freshman forward Jenna Masionis, who found herself with the whole right half of the net to shoot at with the ball freed from the scrum. Jaksina was able to get a piece of the shot in front of the right post, but not enough to keep it out of the cage, as Masionis wound up with her seventh goal of the season.

From there, the game went to overtime, which featured scoring chances at both ends of the field and plenty of back-and-forth action through the open field in the seven-on-seven situation. Just over a minute into the extra frame, Levins got her first chance to win the game, when her deflection of a hard pass from the top of the circle narrowly missed outside the left post. Less than three minutes later, a pass through the midfield sprung Levins into the left side of the circle on her own, but Steiner alertly came off her line to smother the scoring opportunity.

At the other end of the field, just prior to the midway point of the extra session, Duckles found herself with the ball in the circle and only the keeper to beat as the Ravens midfield scrambled back in transition. With the backline closing, Duckles got off a shot towards the upper left corner, but Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro, Mass.) swatted the ball out of midair and out of play on the right side to keep the game alive.

About 30 seconds before Levins' game-winner, AIC had another chance to end it as a shot from the left side by senior forward Amanda McLean got past Nyzio, but Jaksina was able to corral and clear the ball before it had a chance to slip inside the right post. It was the second defensive save of the afternoon for Jaksina, and the 13th of her career, extending her own school record.

With just 55 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, the Ravens were the first to capitalize on a scoring chance and ended the game. With play in the AIC circle, the ball came to Juszczyk near the top of the circle. Juszczyk sent the ball toward the net and it was deflected by a defender, but ultimately made its way behind Steiner, who had come off her line. The shot may have had time to trickle its way into the cage on its own, but Levins was behind the backline to make sure, as she hammered it to the backboard to give the Ravens the 2-1 victory.

Nyzio stopped five of the six shots on her cage to pick up the win (5-6) in front of the net for Franklin Pierce. It was the 21st victory of her career, extending her own program record. Steiner made nine saves against the 11 shots sent her way and suffered the loss (8-5) between the pipes for American International.

Much like Saturday afternoon against Massachusetts Lowell, the game featured numerous chances at both ends of the field, as Franklin Pierce generated 11 shots on goal while holding a 23-19 edge in shot attempts over the course of the game. AIC earned 15 penalty corners to nine for Franklin Pierce.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, Oct. 12, when they travel to Bentley for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Waltham, Mass. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Thursday, Oct. 20, against Stonehill at 6 p.m.

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).