HOOKSETT, N.H. (March 26, 2022) -- Trailing 15-11 in the final 10 minutes, the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team made a run at it on the road on Saturday afternoon at Penmen Stadium. Junior Katelyn Hadden (Newburyport, Mass.) scored three straight times to cap a seven-point day (5-2-7) and cut the gap to 15-14, but a goal with 3:21 to play by Southern New Hampshire sophomore Shelby Cole -- her 10^th point of the game (5-5-10) -- proved to be the clincher. Senior Kaitlyn Daly (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) put home her sixth goal of the game down the stretch, but the Ravens dropped a 16-15 decision in Northeast-10 Conference play.

Franklin Pierce falls to 0-6 (0-4 NE10) with the loss, while Southern New Hampshire improves to 4-1 (2-1 NE10).

This game was competitive, starting right from the opening raw. Just 84 seconds in, junior Skylar Renaud scored the opening goal for the Penmen. Senior Savannah Ernst (American Fork, Utah) answered back to tie the game a minute later, and the first quarter went back and forth from there. Daly scored two goals in the frame for the Ravens, who held a 5-4 at the end of the period.   

In the second quarter, Daly and Hadden opened the scoring for the Ravens, as they jumped to an 8-4 lead. From there, SNHU mounted a comeback, as Renaud had two goals, as did Cole, and the duo combined for four scores in 6:02 to bring the game level at 8-8. Daly answered with 1:58 remaining until halftime, with Hadden adding an assist. With 34 seconds left in the first half, Renaud and Cole connected on a goal to tie the game at 9-9, heading into halftime.   

Renaud scored the first two goals in the second half to give the Penmen an 11-9 lead they would never relinquish. Hadden responded with 9:50 left in the third quarter to cut the deficit. With only 14 seconds left in the quarter, Cole scored an unassisted tally in a woman-up situation to give SNHU a 12-10 lead heading into the final quarter of play.   

It would be a lively final quarter, as the two sides combined to put nine more balls in the net. SNHU started things off with a goal 51 seconds into the quarter to extend their lead to three (13-10). Ernst answered a minute-and-a-half later. The Penmen then struck twice in 38 seconds, as Crowther and Cole pushed the lead to its highest point, at 15-11.

The Ravens then mounted a valiant comeback effort of their own. It started with Hadden scoring on a woman-up chance with 8:10 left to play. She scored again 25 seconds later and added one more with 6:19 to play to cut the Franklin Pierce deficit to one goal (15-14). Cole and Renaud had one final answer for the Penmen though, as they connected with 3:21 to play to push the lead to 16-14. Daly added another goal for the Ravens, but it would not be enough, as SNHU survived and held on for the 16-15 win.  

For the Penmen, Renaud (6-1-7) and Cole (5-5-10) did the heavy lifting offensively, while junior Angelina Graziano grabbed four ground balls. For Franklin Pierce, it was Hadden (5-2-7) and Daly (6-1-7) who did much of the damage, while senior Jacklyn Keane (Framingham, Mass.) picked up three ground balls.

Junior goaltender Erin Blake (Southborough, Mass.) finished the afternoon with 14 saves on 29 shots and suffered the loss (0-6) for Franklin Pierce. Senior Caela McCartney made four saves on 13 shots in the first half for SNHU, before giving way to fellow senior Hayle Ashford. Ashford (1-0) stopped eight of 14 shots in the second half to pick up the win. The Penmen outshot the Ravens 43-37 on the afternoon. 

On Wednesday, the Ravens head back on the road to face off against Bentley University, at 7 p.m., in Waltham, Mass.