Ravens visit Merrimack on Tuesday night

WALTHAM, Mass. (September 15, 2012) – Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Cote (Athol, Mass.) made nine saves on Saturday afternoon, but the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team was defeated, 3-0, on the road by Bentley in non-conference play. Senior forward Beth Maguire had a goal and an assist in the victory for Bentley.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 2-3 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Bentley improves to 3-3 (0-0 Northeast-10). The two teams will play their Northeast-10 Conference match on Oct. 10 in Rindge.

Bentley got the only goal it would need on the afternoon just 9:52 in the game on a set play off a penalty corner. Maguire injected the ball to the top of the circle to freshman midfielder Meghan Talerman, who stopped it for senior midfielder Kaitlyn Marcinek. Marcinek wound and fired for her second goal of the season. The Falcons would stretch the lead to 2-0 less than five minutes later, when sophomore forward Gina Lirange netted her first goal of the season from five yards out as she put away a pass from freshman midfielder Becca Moore.

Bentley carried the 2-0 lead from there into the halftime break after dominating the first half. The Falcons held a 15-1 edge in shot attempts in the first stanza, a 4-0 advantage in penalty corners and a 7-1 edge in shots on goal.

Franklin Pierce picked up the level of play in the second half, outshooting Bentley 10-9, as both teams recorded five shots on goal. The Ravens continually pushed the issue in the offensive end, generating 12 second-half penalty corners to Bentley's three, but were unable to put one past Bentley senior goalkeeper Julia Powell. Maguire picked up an insurance marker 12:34 into the second period, by redirecting home a shot by freshman midfielder Kelsey Howard, for her third goal of the season.

Cote made nine saves against 12 shots on her cage and suffered the loss (2-3) in net for Franklin Pierce. Powell stopped all six shots on goal at her end of the field to notch her second shutout of the season and pick up the win (3-3) between the pipes for Bentley.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, Sept. 18, when they travel to Merrimack for a non-conference contest. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Martone-Mejail Field in North Andover, Mass. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Saturday, Sept. 22 against Southern Connecticut State at 4 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).