Ravens conclude 2010 season, which saw them set a program record for most wins in a season; Franklin Pierce also went a solid 4-3 at Sodexo Field during the year

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (May 1, 2010) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s lacrosse team held a second-half lead, but could not hang on as it concluded the 2010 season with a tough 17-10 setback to Pace at Sodexo Field in Rindge on Saturday. The Ravens concluded the campaign with a 5-8 overall record and a 2-8 mark in the Northeast-10 Conference. Despite the setback, the Ravens set a program record for wins in a single season while also going an impressive 4-3 at home during the campaign.

Junior attack Nate Wood (Binghamton, N.Y.) led Franklin Pierce with three goals on the afternoon, while also collecting an assist for a four-point game. Sophomore midfielder Mat Forzaglia (Croton, N.Y.) scored a pair of goals, while sophomore attack Jimmy McInnis (Amherst, N.H.) had a three-point day with one goal and two assists.

Junior goalkeeper Shea Campbell (Centerport, N.Y.) started in net and made 15 saves while suffering the loss to conclude his season with a 5-8 mark.

Joseph Clark paced the Setters with six goals, while James Hammel tallied four goals. John Kolesar added three scores for Pace on the afternoon.

Kolesar assisted on Hammel’s goal with 12:59 to play in the third period to give Pace a slim 6-5 advantage.

However, Franklin Pierce responded and scored three-consecutive goals to take an 8-6 lead with 10:14 left in the period. Forzaglia knotted the game at 6-6 when he fired a shot past Pace goalkeeper Sean Kearney from the top of the crease. The Ravens then took the lead moments later on a goal by freshman midfielder Scott MacDonald (Marshfield, Mass.), as he beat Kearney to the lower left corner of the net with a shot. Sophomore midfielder Ryan Dintaman (Northfield, Mass.) then staked the Ravens to the two-goal advantage as he took a feed from McInnis and slipped a shot above the stick handle of Kearney.

The 8-6 advantage was coming against a Pace team, which earlier in the week had clinched a spot in next week’s NE-10 playoffs.

Pace, though, answered Franklin Pierce’s run and reeled off nine-straight goals, bridging the third and fourth periods, to take a 15-8 lead. Clark, who had three tallies during the run, kick-started the surge with a marker. Hammel and Kolesar each had two tallies during the run, which propelled the Setters onto victory.

Freshman attack Brendan Cahill (Hollis, N.H.) and Wood each scored in the closing minutes to bump the Ravens up into double-digit goals.

Pace collected 36 ground balls to Franklin Pierce’s 27, while also forcing the Ravens into 28 turnovers.

Each team traded a pair of goals in the first period as Wood and McInnis scored roughly four minutes apart late in the frame to knot it at 2-2.

Pace took a 4-3 lead with a minute to play in the second period, but the Ravens scored twice in the closing seconds, including goals from Forzaglia and Wood, to take a 5-4 lead into halftime. Forzaglia’s goal came directly off a faceoff win. The Ravens scored three times in the second as sophomore midfielder Matthew Leslie (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) got the other tally earlier in the frame.

The 2010 season saw a new era in Franklin Pierce men’s lacrosse as first-year head coach Rick Senatore took over the reigns of the program following a productive three-year stint at fellow NE-10 school, Saint Anselm. As stated earlier, the Ravens set a program record for wins in a season, while also defending their home turf with solid success. A majority of the points, both goals and assists, will return for the Ravens in the 2011 season as Senatore continues to lay the foundation for future men’s lacrosse success in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s lacrosse, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)