RINDGE, N.H. (March 20, 2021) – The Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse program began their 2021 season falling to Northeast-10 Conference opponent Southern New Hampshire University 16-15 Saturday morning on Sodexo Field. The win pushes the Penmen to 1-0, 1-0 NE10 while the defeat was the first of the year for the Crimson and Gray.

The Ravens built up an 8-3 halftime edge and led by as many as six a couple of minutes into the third quarter, however, the Penmen rallied to tie the game with 5:39 left and took the late lead with 13 ticks to go on the game clock.

Senior captain Josh Dorr (Brunswick, Maine) produced three goals and one assist in the defeat while newcomer, freshman midfielder Conor Rooney (Wilmington, Mass.) matched his teammates' goal and assist output in his first collegiate game. Sophomore midfielder Sean Daly (Kingston, Mass.) chipped in two goals and two assists for good measure.

On defense, team captain Kyle Fortier (Derry, N.H.) caused a game-high four turnovers and gobbled up a team-best four groundballs. Freshman James Heitmiller (Nashua, N.H.) made his first start in the cage and stopped 12 shots.

For SNHU, Stephen Dubois scored five goals with an assist while teammate David Wiedenfeld racked up four goals including the game-winner with an assist. Alex Sturgess was awarded the opening day start in net and unimpressed with 10 goals allowed in 32 minutes. He was relieved by Oscar Kozikowski who stopped three shots and allowed only five goals over the final 28 minutes.

The Ravens took a commanding 5-1 advantage in the first quarter. Rooney kicked off the scoring sniping a right-wing chance following a pass from behind the cage. Sophomore attack Caleb Ikkela (Onset, Mass.) capped off the first quarter scoring barrage with his second point of the period to push the Ravens up 5-1.

Jack Terrones and the Penmen struck for two scores almost halfway through the second to come within three, however, Pierce responded with the final three tallies of the first half that included a Connor Chapdelaine (Goffstown, N.H.) successful clear attempt and whole field sprint to the goal to move his team ahead 8-3 at the intermission.

The FPU edge expanded to a high of six, 10-4 when Rooney clanked a shot off the pipe and the rock passed the goal line off the deflection three minutes into the third period. SNHU outscored the Ravens 6-3 over the remainder of the quarter to pull within three, 13-10.

In the fourth, the Penmen drew first blood until Door answered by falling down and somehow getting the ball into the cage. SNHU manufactured the next four scores to take their first lead of the game at the 2:53 mark. Daly eventually knotted the score a minute later and SNHU countered with a mad scramble in front of the crease with 13 seconds left and Wiedenfeld somehow flicked the loose ball on the ground past the goalie for the winning score. Pierce didn't go down without a fight as following a faceoff win and timeout, Dorr rolled up the right sideline with five seconds left, came towards the middle, and rifled a shot that dinged the crossbar preventing a sudden death overtime period.

The Ravens will look to get into the win column on Wednesday, March 24th when they travel to Saint Michael's College for a 3:00 p.m. contest.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). 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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://fpuravens.com/store). You can also follow the men's lacrosse team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPUMLacrosse) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpumlacrosse).