Tori Gikas and Talita Pereira move into a tie for the team lead with nine points

Amanda Panaro scored the match-winning goal in the 86th minute.

WORCESTER, Mass. (September 25, 2011) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team snapped a three-game losing skid with a satisfying 2-0 win over Assumption on Sunday afternoon in Worcester, Mass. The Ravens improved to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the Northeast-10, while the Greyhounds fell to 2-5-1 and 0-5-1 in league play.

Senior Tori Gikas (Sydney, Australia) had a three-point afternoon with a goal and an assist, while classmate Amanda Panaro (Rockland, Mass.) added a tally to spark the Franklin Pierce offensive attack.

Franklin Pierce outshot Assumption by a 15-4 count and broke a scoreless tie with both goals coming in the final five minutes of regulation.

Panaro notched the match's first goal in the 86th minute when she took a feed from Gikas, dribbled into the box and slipped a shot past the Assumption goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead. It was Panaro's third goal of the season.

Gikas put the match out of reach two minutes later as she one-timed a crossing pass from sophomore forward Talita Pereira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) from directly in front of the goal. In the process, Gikas and Pereira moved into a tie for the team lead in points with nine.

Franklin Pierce goalkeeper Jocelyn Leon (Lenox, Mass.) made a pair of saves to earn the shutout victory and run her record to 4-3 on the season. Pereira fired off a team-high four shots in the match, while Panaro and senior Aya Noguchi (Tokyo, Japan) struck three shots apiece.

The Ravens return to action Wednesday night when they play host to Southern New Hampshire in Sodexo Field at 7 p.m. The match is a Pierce Pride contest with free giveaways being handed out to 150 students.

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), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).