COLCHESTER, Vt. (March 24, 2021) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team travelled to the campus of Saint Michael's College to take on the Purple Knights on Wednesday afternoon at Duffy Field. Freshman Conor Rooney (Wilmington, Mass.) shined in the defensive struggle with a hat trick for the Ravens, but it would not be enough. Franklin Pierce suffered a 7-6 loss to the Purple Knights in Northeast-10 Conference play.

The Ravens record falls to 0-2 with the loss, while the Purple Knights improve to 2-0 on the young season.

The two teams battled in the first quarter, with the scoring going back and forth in the opening period. Sophomore Owen McCormack (Hampstead, N.H.) got the scoring started with a man-up goal for the Ravens, just over three-and-a-half minutes in. Saint Michael's would tie the game two minutes later, but then the Ravens regained the lead with 4:29 remaining, thanks to senior Josh Dorr (Brunswick, Maine), who scored his sixth goal of the season. The Purple Knights would add another tally before the end of the quarter to make it 2-2. Sophomore Max Katavolos scored both of the Purple Knights' first-quarter goals.

The trend continued in the second quarter, when the teams traded single goals. Franklin Pierce would break the tie with 2:18 to go before halftime, as McCormack got the ball from sophomore Caleb Ikkela (Onset, Mass.) for his second goal of the game. A man-up goal from freshman Nathan Woods evened things up at 3-3 before halftime.

Coming out of halftime, the Ravens would take their fourth lead of the game, as Rooney scored his first of the game on a solo effort at 13:18. Just over three minutes later, at the 10-minute mark, Rooney would double the lead and score his second goal of the game, with an assist from McCormack, to make it 5-3 Franklin Pierce. Katavolos completed his hat trick with 6:12 to go in the quarter to bring the game back to within one heading into the fourth quarter.

Saint Michael's would strike first in the final period to tie the game at 5-5 with 13:35 remaining. Rooney capped off his hat trick to give the Ravens the lead with 7:06 to play, but it would be Franklin Pierce's final goal of the afternoon.

The 6-5 lead held until the final two minutes, when junior Kyle Hirshom would score in a man-up situation with 1:59 to play to tie the game. The Purple Knights then needed just eight seconds to take the lead for the first time all afternoon, with 1:51 to play, when sophomore Alex Chergwin found the back of the net. The Purple Knights won the ensuing faceoff and ran some time off the clock. Franklin Pierce got a final chance in the dying seconds, but a shot from sophomore Nathaniel Girardin (Brunswick, Maine) was blocked by the defense and Saint Michael's came away with the 7-6 win.

Despite the Ravens holding the lead five separate times throughout the game, freshman James Heitmiller (Nashua, N.H.) suffered the loss (0-2) in the crease for Franklin Pierce, though he made 13 saves against 20 shots. Saint Michael's senior Dominic Joy (2-0) earned the win with 17 saves on 23 shots.

The Ravens are scheduled to be back in action next week, as they host Saint Anselm College at Sodexo Field on Wednesday, March 31, at 3 p.m.