WALTHAM, Mass. (March 30, 2022) -- Leading by two late in the third quarter, the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team had No. 16 nationally ranked Bentley on the ropes on Wednesday night at Bentley Field. The home-standing Falcons would not be denied in the Northeast-10 Conference affair though. Graduate student Cara McCarthy scored twice to key a 4-0 fourth quarter, as Bentley rallied down the stretch for a 13-10 victory. Senior Savannah Ernst (American Fork, Utah) found the net five times in defeat for Franklin Pierce.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 0-7 (0-5 NE10), while Bentley improves to 4-2 (3-1 NE10).

Bentley briefly took a 4-2 lead in the second quarter, but the game was highly competitive, as neither side had a lead larger than one goal for much of the first half, and deep into the third quarter as well. Finally, Franklin Pierce staked out a two-goal lead (9-7) with just over three minutes to play in the third, as Ernst fought through a double team on the right side and finished with an underhand shot at 4:24, and then finished over a defender on the run on the right side at 3:29.

Bentley scored two of the final three goals of the quarter, to cut the gap to 10-9 heading into the fourth, which set the stage for the Falcons' fourth-quarter rally. The first half of the period went scoreless, but then McCarthy leveled the game at 10-10 with 7:30 to play, as she took the ball on an isolation play, drove to the middle of the attacking zone and fired a shot home. Bentley took the lead for good 86 seconds later, with 6:04 remaining, as sophomore Maeve Johnson worked her way out front from the left side and flipped a shot into the top-right corner. McCarthy and senior Glenna Gies added insurance markers in the final four minutes to make sure the comeback stood up.

Ernst's five goals, plus three points (2-1-3) from senior Megyn Ayotte (Guilford, Vt.), led the way for the Ravens offensively on Wednesday night. Graduate student Jenna Cimbron (Bristol, R.I.) and junior Amelia D'Urso (Katonah, N.Y.) each picked up four ground balls.

For Bentley, Johnson (3-1-4), Gies (3-0-3) and McCarthy (3-0-3) all scored three times apiece, and each figured in the late rally as well. Senior Christine Fish and freshman Kat Slattery snagged four ground balls apiece, while Fish caused three turnovers to lead all players. Fish also led the way with eight draw controls, and sophomore Caroline Affolter added six more, as Bentley held a 20-7 edge in draws on the night.

Senior goalkeeper Megan Bacik (Huntington Station, N.Y.) was strong in the Franklin Pierce crease, with her 17 saves against 30 shots on goal helping to keep the Ravens in the game despite being outshot 38-25, though she was ultimately stuck with the loss (0-1) anyway. Junior Maya Rose (4-2) made just five saves against 15 shots in the win for Bentley.

Franklin Pierce returns home on Saturday to host Southern Connecticut State in an NE10 contest at noon at Sodexo Field.