Noonan, Cahill combine for seven points

RINDGE, N.H. (March 9, 2012) – Sophomore midfielder Eddie Noonan (Foxboro, Mass.) tied for the game lead with four points on two goals and two assists on Friday afternoon, but the Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team squandered a 7-1 lead and fell, 10-9, to Saint Rose in non-conference play at Sodexo Field. Freshman attacker Kevin Fleming led Saint Rose with four points on two goals and two assists, as well.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-1 (0-1 Northeast-10), while Saint Rose improves to 1-2. The win marked the first victory as a program for Saint Rose, which is sponsoring men's lacrosse for the first time in 2012. The Golden Knights will join the Northeast-10 in the sport in 2013.

After surrendering the first goal of the game 5:40 into the first quarter, the Ravens went on to score the next seven goals of the contest to build a 7-1 lead with 11:24 to play in the second period. All four of Noonan's points came on the 7-0 run, while junior attacker Brendan Cahill (Hollis, N.H.) added two goals and an assist and senior midfielder Ryan Dintaman (Northfield, Mass.) scored twice.

From there, Saint Rose would take control for the remainder of the first half, as the Golden Knights scored the next five goals to trim the halftime deficit to 7-6. Senior midfielder Joe Pompo started the run with a man-up goal, scored twice in a span of 2:13, and added an assist, while Fleming dished out his two assists and sophomore attacker Brett McAuliffe added a goal and an assist.

The offense slowed down in the second half, as only six more goals would be scored the rest of the way. Less than three minutes after the intermission, senior attacker Jack Corts (Kingston, N.Y.) struck for a man-up goal to give the Ravens a two-goal lead, before Saint Rose freshman attacker Evan Helming and Franklin Pierce freshman attacker Kevin Dargin (Littleton, Mass.) traded goals 1:19 apart to make it a 9-7 game.

Saint Rose scored twice in a span of 87 seconds in the final 1:51 of the third quarter to tie the game at 9-9, and McAuliffe scored what turned out to be the game's final goal 3:09 into the fourth quarter as the Golden Knights came away with the 10-9 victory.

Defensively for Franklin Pierce, senior attacker Jimmy McInnis (Amherst, N.H.) corralled a game-best seven ground balls, and was the only Raven to pick up five or more, while senior defender Alex Whitney (Stratham, N.H.) caused a game-high three turnovers.

For Saint Rose, freshman midfielder Ryan McFee picked up six ground balls, while fellow freshman midfielder Alex Schiponi added five more. McFee and freshmen defenders Jake Files and Kevin Jadick all caused two turnovers each to lead the Golden Knights.

Freshman goalkeeper Don Denman (Exeter, N.H.) stopped 12 of the 22 shots sent his way and took the loss (1-1) in front of the net for Franklin Pierce. Sophomore goalkeeper Nick Longo made 15 saves against 24 shots on his cage to earn the first-ever win (1-2) in goal for Saint Rose.

Franklin Pierce posted a 41-33 advantage in shot attempts and a 39-37 edge in ground balls in the game. Franklin Pierce was successful on 18 of its 21 clear attempts (85.7%) and finished 2-for-6 in extra-man opportunities. Saint Rose converted 20 of 27 clear attempts (74.1%) and went 2-for-4 with an extra man.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, March 17, when they remain home to host Southern New Hampshire in the Northeast-10 Conference opener. Opening faceoff is scheduled for noon at Sodexo Field.

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).