RINDGE, N.H. (3/1/23) – Winter decided to stick around on Wednesday afternoon at Sodexo Field, as the Franklin Pierce men's lacrosse team opened their home slate with a matchup against regional opponent University of Bridgeport, decisively winning by a score of 16-7 on Wednesday afternoon.

With the win, the Ravens improve to 2-1 on the season while the Purple Knights drop to 1-1.

Through the first quarter, the Ravens and Knights would play to a 4-4 stalemate. Of their four goals scored through the first 15 minutes, two belonged to senior attacker Owen McCormack (Hampstead, N.H.), kicking off what would be a six goal day.

In the second quarter, the Ravens would score the only two goals of the entire frame, beginning with the sixth of the season for senior Stephen Ell (Peabody, Mass.), with the assist going to fellow senior Caleb Ikkela (Onset, Mass.). Owen McCormack would notch the hat trick before the end of the frame, sending Pierce into halftime with a 6-4 lead over Bridgeport.

With a man-up opportunity to begin the second half, the Purple Knights would cut the deficit down to 6-5 on a goal 00:30 in. However, the floodgates would open for the Ravens through the rest of the third quarter, with five unanswered goals from four different players. McCormack would continue his dominant effort with two of the third quarter strikes, while seniors Caleb Ikkela, Nathaniel Girardin (Brunswick, Maine), and sophomore Jackson Hale (Kensington, N.H.) would each notch a goal.

In the fourth, it would be the same story as the Purple Knights would open with a hot start, then eventually give in to a relentless Pierce attack. With the snow falling, Pierce would pile on another four goals to close out the game, two of which came in consecutive fashion from graduate attacker Joe Nutting (Amherst, N.H.), completing the 16-7 winning effort.

Men's Lacrosse will hit the road for a pair of matchups, with their first stop on Saturday, March 4^th at Caldwell University for a 12:00 p.m. start.