RINDGE, N.H. (March 5, 2022) – The Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team opened their 2022 campaign with a convincing victory over Dominican College on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Chargers by a top-heavy final score of 14-4 on home turf. Franklin Pierce starts off the season 1-0 after the victory, whereas Dominican falls to a 1-2 record for their own.

The Ravens wasted no time in the first quarter, getting straight to work by scoring six total goals. Sophomore midfielder Conor Rooney (Wilmington, Mass.) ignited the offense for the Ravens at the 1:24 mark of the opening frame, after an aggressive move to the middle of the offensive zone provided him time and space to send the shot low corner. Shortly thereafter, junior Nathaniel Girardin (Brunswick, ME) received a pass from Rooney and found some daylight through traffic, extending the Ravens lead to 2-0. Franklin Pierce continued to control the first quarter, climbing to a 5-0 lead over the Chargers through the first ten minutes of play, with the additional strikes from juniors Owen McCormack (Hampstead, N.H) & Caleb Ikkela (Onset, Mass.), as well as senior Stephen Ell (Peabody, Mass.).

The second quarter started similarly to the first, with Stephen Ell tallying his second goal of the match just 2:02 in. The goal came on a man-up advantage, which for Ell kick-started what would become a career game for himself. Ell would also snag the goal to end the second quarter, which for the Ravens was their 10^th strike, with ten seconds left. Ell continued on to finish the game with five goals scored, along with a single assist (six total points), confirming a new career best in single-game goals and points scored. It was also a career day for newcomer Ryan Cottone (Newburyport, Mass.), who snagged his first ever collegiate goal on a fantastic solo maneuver play.

After a near overwhelming first half, the second had a slightly different tone with Franklin Pierce shifting to a more defensive game. The Ravens denied the Chargers of a goal in the second quarter, and would only allow two over the final half of the game. Conor Rooney would score the lone Ravens goal in the third, with Stephen Ell, Josh Dorr and Owen McCormack icing it for Franklin Pierce in the fourth. The Ravens wrapped up their opening day of the 2022 season with four separate players registering multi-goal performances.

Men's Lacrosse will hit the road for their next two matchups, and will be back in action this coming Saturday, 3/12/22 for a non-conference duel with Post University.