Johansson hat trick leads Ravens back from 3-0 deficit for victory

Boxscore

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (September 6, 2008) - Sophomore All-American Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden) netted her second hat trick of the young season as Franklin Pierce University rallied from a three-goal deficit to claim an improbable 4-3 victory over Le Moyne College in Northeast-10 Conference women's soccer action at Niland Athletic Complex this afternoon.

Johansson's hat trick included the match-winning goal for Franklin Pierce, which she scored unassisted with 12:58 to play in regulation. Junior All-American Gabriela Demoner (Curitiba, Brazil) also netted a goal for the Ravens that leveled the match at 3-3 in the 64^th minute. Sophomore Snezana Stojkovic (Vitojevci, Serbia) and freshman Nikki Chalifoux (Lebanon, Conn./Lyman Memorial) each collected assists for the first points of their collegiate careers.

Junior Megan O'Shea (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse-Minoa) played a role in all three Le Moyne goals with two goals and an assist as the Dolphins staked out a three goal lead with all three markers coming in a nine minute span midway through the first half. Sophomore Riane Fletcher (Lisbon, N.Y./Lisbon) also netted a goal for the Dolphins.

Senior Brittany Ester (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) made two saves in goal for Franklin Pierce, which enjoyed a 15-12 advantage in shots for the match, while senior Amanda Abbatiello (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) collected two saves for Le Moyne.

O'Shea opened the scoring with an unassisted tally 22:22 into the match. She combined with freshman Rachel Farneti (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus) to set up Fletcher's goal just over three minutes later that doubled Le Moyne's lead. The Dolphins grabbed their three-goal advantage with O'Shea's second unassisted goal of the match in the 32^nd minute.

Johansson kick-started Franklin Pierce's comeback with just less than nine minutes left in the first half, when she took a pass from Stojkovic and chipped the ball over Abbatiello. The sophomore All-American drew the Ravens within a goal just 35-seconds into the second half with a sliding shot off a cross from the left side by Chalifoux.

Demoner equalized in the 64^th minute with a shot from the left side. Johansson put the Ravens in front 14-minutes later when she knocked in a rebound in the 78^th minute. Farneti missed a penalty kick with under five minutes to play in regulation for Le Moyne, which would have knotted the score at four.

Franklin Pierce (2-0-1, 1-0-1 NE-10) is back in action on Friday when it visits the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., at 4:30 p.m. The Ravens next home match is Tuesday, September 23, when they host Saint Michael's College at 7 p.m. Le Moyne (3-1-0, 0-1-0 NE-10) is off until next Saturday when it visits Bentley College at 2 p.m.