Amanda Panaro scores in 106th minute to lift Ravens to victory

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (September 3, 2011) -- The No. 18-nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team made it two wins in a row to open the 2011 season on Saturday as the Ravens downed Queens College, 2-1, in double overtime at Sodexo Field in Rindge. Queens fell to 0-2 on the young season.

Senior forward Amanda Panaro (Rockland, Mass.) picked a great time for her first goal of the campaign as she scored in the 106th minute to lift the Ravens to victory. Both teams failed to gain many offensive chances during the first overtime and early stages of the second extra session. It appeared the teams would play to a 1-1 tie as the final minutes were ticking away, but Panaro ended the drama when she took a pass, dribbled down the center of the field and slipped a shot past the drawn out goalkeeper to send Franklin Pierce home with a victory.

It was the first goal of the 2011 season for Panaro, who is looking to build off of her amazing 2010 season which saw her score 20 goals and assist on four others for 44 points.

Franklin Pierce outshot Queens, 11-8, and got two saves from senior goalkeeper Jocelyn Leon (Lenox, Mass.), who improved to 2-0 on the season with the win.

Both teams struggled to gain any kind of offensive rhythm during the first 45 minutes. Queens outshot the Ravens, 6-2, and generated two quality scoring chances off header attempts, but Leon was able to turn aside the shots to keep the game scoreless. Senior back Nikki Chalifoux (Lebanon, Conn.) also made an outstanding save on a close-range attempt as she kicked away a Queens shot that come from the top of the goal mouth.

The Ravens finally broke through in the 62nd minute and took a 1-0 lead on Tori Gikas' (Sydney, Australia) second goal of the season. Gikas tallied the marker as she headed in an attempt right in front of the goal. Her goal came off a header pass from freshman Courtney Steeves (Needham, Mass.), who lobbed it to the front of the net to notch an assist on the play for her first collegiate point.

Queens, though, knotted the score at 1-1 in the 80th minute following a goal from Janine Guerra. The tally came off a defensive breakdown in front of Leon.

Franklin Pierce returns to action on Friday when the Ravens travel to face New Haven in the 2011 Northeast-10 Conference season-opener at 4 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women's soccer, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics).