ORANGEBURG, N.Y. (September 3, 2021) -- For the eighth straight season, the Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team is into the win column to open its campaign. On Friday night, the Chargers of Dominican (N.Y.) were the victims, as freshman Eleonora Franco (Verona, Italy) put home two goals in her collegiate debut, and fellow freshman Delaney Farinha (Preston, Conn.) added one in hers for good measure as well. The pair of debutants led the way for the Ravens, who rolled to a 4-0, non-conference win at OMM Soccer Complex.

The Ravens got the season started in style, with a pair of goals in the opening 10 minutes of the proceedings. The first came on a counter-attack in the fifth minute. Freshman Jasmine Perez (Cape Coral, Fla.) played the ball far ahead from her own half of the field and got it behind the Dominican defense. It was Farinha who used her speed to get on the other end of the long feed and find her first career goal. Farinha took one touch outside the penalty area to settle and then put the ball past onrushing Dominican sophomore goalkeeper Lynne Garofalo from just inside the top of the box to open the scoring.

It took just 4:48 for Franklin Pierce to strike again, and it was another goal from a player making her collegiate debut. This time, the honors went to Franco, who took a short corner from fellow freshman Salome Kerguillec (Landerneau, France) and then created her own opportunity on the right-wing side. Franco drifted back up towards the top, right-wing corner of the penalty area, then turned on the jets and got a step on her marking defender as she dribbled parallel to the top of the box. Roughly even with the right post and 20 yards from goal, she unleashed a left-footed blast which found the upper reaches of the net to double the lead.

A 36^th-minute penalty kick made it a 3-0 game heading into halftime, after sophomore Tess McKenzie (Warren, R.I.) was hauled down inside the penalty area. McKenzie took the penalty herself after she earned it, and calmly slotted the ball into the right side of the net.

Franco made it a multi-goal collegiate debut with the second half's only goal, as an unassisted tally in the 60^th minute created the 4-0 final.

Not to be left out of the debut party, freshman goalkeeper Gabby Calidonio (Flagler Beach, Fla.) stopped all four shots on her goal to post a shutout in her first game at the college level. Garofalo finished with three saves against seven shots in the losing effort for Dominican.

The Ravens are right back at it on Saturday, when they travel to St. Thomas Aquinas, for a 4 p.m., non-conference contest at Spartan Field in Sparkill, N.Y.