Hannah Weagle scores team-high tying fourth goal of the season

RINDGE, N.H. (October 16, 2013) – Junior midfielder Caroline Savasta (Salem, Mass.) scored the game-winner on a penalty kick attempt in the 89^th minute to break a 2-all tie and lift the Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team to an exhilarating 3-2 win over Saint Anselm on Wednesday at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

The Ravens came back from a pair of one-goal deficits in the second half to snap a two-game winless streak to even their record at 5-5-3 overall and 4-4-2 in the Northeast-10. The Hawks dipped to 5-6-1 and 4-5 in league play.

Savasta’s PK attempt came after freshman forward Madison Finlay (Plymouth, Mass.) did an excellent job of outworking a Saint Anselm defender deep in the box for a loose ball. Finlay took the ball, made a move towards the goal, but was shoved to the ground, thus the ensuing foul being called, and the attempt awarded to the Ravens.

Savasta was chosen to take the shot and calmly sent a strike to the lower half of the net past the diving attempt of St. A’s keeper Gabriella Primera. The goal was Savasta’s first of the season, and was the fourth goal scored in the second half alone.

Franklin Pierce was able to knot the score at 2-2 seven minutes earlier when another Raven scored her first marker of the campaign, as Gabriela Vieira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) ripped a strike through a mass of bodies and into the lower left corner of the net. Vieira was able to score on the play off a nice crossing feed from Finlay, who worked the ball down the left side before sending a pass to the top of the box where Vieira was able to flag it down and put a good boot on the ball for the tying goal.

Franklin Pierce owned a commanding 10-2 edge in shots in the second 45 minutes. However, one of those Saint Anselm tries paid off in the 71^st minute when Callie Millet scored off an impressive one-on-one move against a Raven defender and placing a perfect bending shot to the upper left corner of the net to put the Hawks back on top 2-1.

Millet’s marker came just three minutes after the Ravens had tied things up at 1-1 when sophomore Hannah Weagle (Ipswich, Mass.) made Primera pay for a botched save attempt by collecting a loose ball behind the goalkeeper and depositing a shot to the lower right corner of the net. The play began following a pass towards the net from freshman Makayla Medeiros (Attleboro, Mass.), who was credited with an assist for her first collegiate point.

Weagle moved into a tie with Finlay for the team lead in goals with four. The duo also sits atop the team standings in points with 11.

The up-and-down second half followed a first period which saw both teams struggling to gain any sort of momentum. Saint Anselm went up 1-0 just three minutes in after Franklin Pierce keeper Katie Weldon (Manchester, N.H.) failed to secure a save attempt off a Millet shot that skipped behind her, and allowed Hawks forward Taylor Levy to place her foot on the ball with a shot to the upper right corner of the net. Millet was credited with an assist to begin her three-point evening.

Franklin Pierce finished with a 17-10 advantage in shots, while Weldon made a pair of saves to earn the win and run her record to 5-5-2 on the year.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens play host to Le Moyne at 12 p.m. on Sodexo Field in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women’s soccer, please visit the team’s page at http://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/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women’s soccer apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)