Sweeney twins net nine goals

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (March 17, 2015) – Junior attack Nicole Dale (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) forged an 11-11 tie with 4:47 to play in overtime and freshman midfielder Caitlin Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) broke said tie with the game-winning goal 2:24 later on Tuesday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team rallied from a 7-3 halftime deficit to claw its way to a 12-11, overtime win over Merrimack in Northeast-10 Conference play at Martone-Mejail Field. Freshman midfielder Annette Ruggiero had two goals and two assists in defeat for Merrimack.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-1 (1-1 Northeast-10), while Merrimack falls to 3-2 (1-1 Northeast-10).

Trailing 7-3 at the intermission, Franklin Pierce surged out of the halftime break with the first three goals of the second half. Senior attack Madeline Shopshire (Hyannis, Mass.) started things 6:54 into the stanza, and then junior attack Lauren Beville (Jamesville, N.Y.) followed up 53 seconds later, before setting up a man-up goal for Sweeney with 18:42 to play to cut the deficit to one goal at 7-6.

Merrimack stemmed the tide with back-to-back goals with 17:43 and 12:33 to play, to stretch the lead back out to three goals at 9-6. Freshman attack Hunter McCarthy struck first, off of a feed from Ruggiero, before sophomore midfielder Meghan Wiseman found the back of the net as well.

Again the Ravens pulled within a goal, but could not tie, as the Sweeney twins took control of the offense for the remainder of the half. Freshman midfielder Briana Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) put home a free-position shot for the last of her three goals on the day with 11:37 to play, and Caitlin Sweeney cut the lead to 9-8 with 7:13 remaining.

Merrimack was once again able to prevent the tie, but this time only momentarily, as McCarthy finished off another Ruggiero assist with 6:10 to play to make it 10-8. From there, the Merrimack offense would dry up, however, as the Warriors recorded only one shot attempt the rest of the way, and it went wide of the target.

Instead, the Ravens found the final two goals of regulation to force a 10-10 tie and overtime. Caitlin Sweeney had both markers down the stretch, as she scored unassisted tallies with 3:02 and 1:43 to play to draw Franklin Pierce level.

Merrimack struck first in the extra session, as senior defenseman Kelly Metzger set up Wiseman just 34 seconds into the frame. But Franklin Pierce struck last, as Dale answered, unassisted, with 4:47 to go and Caitlin Sweeney put home a free-position attempt for the last of her six goals on the day, which would stand as the game-winner, with 2:23 to go.

After falling behind for the first time since the opening minutes, Merrimack was able to come up with one more possession after the final Caitlin Sweeney goal. Franklin Pierce senior goalkeeper Julia Coakley (Bridgewater, Mass.) was able to stymie McCarthy with 10 seconds to play and pick up the resulting rebound to send the Ravens home victorious.

The Sweeney twins accounted for a vast majority of the Ravens offense, as Caitlin scored six goals and Briana added three more, though Beville added a goal and an assist along the way. Defensively, junior defenseman Liana Roman (Springfield, Mass.) and sophomore defenseman Leana Richards (Queensbury, N.Y.) picked up two ground balls each.

For Merrimack, Ruggiero led the way with two goals and an assist, while McCarthy and junior defenseman Danielle Riley finished with two goals and an assist each and Wiseman added a pair of goals. Defensively for the Warriors, freshman midfielder Valerie Dayton picked up five ground balls to go with her four draw controls, while Riley caused a pair of turnovers.

Sophomore goalkeeper Danielle Hunt (Hull, Mass.) started, played the first half in goal for Franklin Pierce and finished with three saves against 10 shots. Coakley took over to start the second half and made four saves against eight shots the rest of the way, including one save in overtime, to pick up the win (1-1).

Freshman Alexa Petzold went the distance in front of the Merrimack goal, made seven saves against 19 shots and suffered the loss (3-2).

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, March 21, when they travel to American International for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for noon at Abdow Field in Springfield, Mass.

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).