Freshman nets pair, Libby adds one; Bird tallies 11th career assist

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (September 4, 2012) – Freshman forward Sara Michaels (Goshen, Conn.) tracked down a loose ball on the right side of the circle, turned and uncorked a shot which beat the charging keeper just 4:12 into overtime on Tuesday afternoon to lift the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team to a 3-2 win over Adelphi in non-conference play at Motamed Field. It was Michaels' second goal of her collegiate debut.

With the win, Franklin Pierce opens the season at 1-0 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Adelphi falls to 0-3 (0-0 Northeast-10). The two teams will play their Northeast-10 Conference contest on Sept. 29 in Rindge. The win marked the first-ever victory for Franklin Pierce over Adelphi. The two teams had never played before the Panthers joined the Northeast-10 in 2009, and Adelphi had won both games between the two clubs in each of the last three seasons. It was also the second straight overtime victory for the Ravens, who last needed extra time on Oct. 10, 2011, in a 2-1 win over American International at home.

Despite the back-and-forth nature of the game, Franklin Pierce did find ways to control long stretches of play, and clearly set the tone at the start of overtime. On the game-winning play, the initial Franklin Pierce advance into the circle was stymied, but the ball trickled away from the defense into the right-wing side of the upper reaches of the circle. Michaels was able to track it down and found herself with nobody between her and Adelphi senior goalkeeper Kristine Puzio. As Michaels took a couple steps towards the cage, Puzio came off her line to cut down the angle. It was to no avail, however, as Michaels beat Puzio with her shot to spark a season-opening celebration for the Ravens.

Earlier in the contest, Adelphi wasted no time opening the scoring, as the home team jumped to a 1-0 lead just 2:19 in. After the initial offensive surge on the play was turned aside, freshman forward Kristen Bagley found the rebound and slipped a pass to senior forward Cassie Cabral, who put away her second goal of the season.

From there, the Ravens would take charge on their way to a 2-1 halftime advantage. With just over 10 minutes to play until the intermission, senior midfielder Megan Bird (Laconia, N.H.) threaded a pass towards Michaels in the middle of the circle near the penalty spot. Michaels had defensive company there, but was able to get her stick to the ball before it could be whisked away. She fired the ball to the back of the cage for the first goal of her career.

For Bird, the assist was the 11th of her career, tying her for fourth all-time in program history. She is now just three behind the program record of 14, established just last season by Danielle Dolan '12.

Just a shade over 10 minutes after Michaels' first tally, sophomore forward Taylor Libby (Sidney, Maine) gave Franklin Pierce its first lead of 2013 with her first goal of the season. Off of a penalty corner, a long rebound came to junior forward Chanelle Letarte (Lunenburg, Mass.) near the top of the circle. She sent a pass to the left side, where Libby was waiting to hammer it into the cage.

After fighting off a handful of challenges early in the second half, the Franklin Pierce defense finally succumbed to the Adelphi pressure in the 55th minute, as the Panthers found the equalizer. This one was also a play off a penalty corner, as freshman midfielder Molly Cuevas found fellow freshman midfielder Olivia Nowokunski and the latter one-timed home her first career goal.

From there, the remainder of regulation would go without another goal, setting the stage for Michaels' overtime heroics.

Making her collegiate debut in net, freshman goalkeeper Sarah Cote (Athol, Mass.) made nine saves against 11 shots on her cage to pick up her first career win (1-0) for Franklin Pierce. Puzio made seven saves against 10 shots on goal, and her defense chipped in three defensive saves, but she still suffered the loss (0-3) between the pipes for Adelphi.

The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, Sept. 6, when they return home for their home-opener, a non-conference contest against Assumption. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

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).