WALTHAM, Mass. (August 31, 2022) -- Trailing from the 38^th minute, the Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team turned up the heat down the stretch on the road on Wednesday afternoon. The pressure eventually paid off for the Ravens, and not a moment too soon, with a 90^th-minue equalizer. Sophomore Delaney Farinha (Preston, Conn.) set up junior Aino Martikainen (Järvenpää, Finland), as Franklin Pierce turned a near defeat into a 1-1 draw in non-conference action at Bentley.

With the tie, Franklin Pierce remains undefeated at 2-0-1, while Bentley narrowly missed its first victory of the season and moved to 0-1-2. The two teams will meet for their Northeast-10 Conference match on Sept. 30 at Franklin Pierce.

The only goal of the first half came directly off a free kick in the 38^th minute, after the Raven defense committed a foul some 25 yards in front of the right post. Senior Brooke Jones stood over the set piece for Bentley and needed no help. She put her shot just over the top of the wall and curled it just inside the post at the lower-right corner for her first goal of the campaign.

The Ravens still trailed heading into the final half-hour, but then the chances began to pile up. In the 62^nd minute, sophomore Brianna Trappett (Newcastle, Australia) made a run down the left wing and put a cross at the feet of junior Gianna Derose (Brewster, N.Y.) in the middle of the penalty area. Derose had room to shoot, but her effort clanged off the left post and stayed out.

In the 77^th minute, Farinha made a lengthy run with possession down the right wing and centered for junior Aino Martikainen (Järvenpää, Finland), whose ensuing shot was knocked down by the hand of a Bentley defender, resulting in a penalty kick. Sophomore Jasmine Perez-Acosta (Cape Coral, Fla.) -- who had converted a penalty on Friday against Staten Island and was 3-for-3 in her career from the spot -- took the kick. She went high and left with it, but could not put it far enough into the corner, as a diving Claire Ewan -- Bentley's sophomore goalkeeper -- was able to parry it over the top of the net and out of play.

The Ravens kept coming though. In the 81^st minute, junior Anna Crapanzano (Milano, Italy) and Farinha played give-and-go on the right side, which left Crapanzano with the ball 15 yards in front of the right post. She lacked a clear shooting lane though, as her shot was deflected and slowed by the Bentley defense, which allowed Ewan to scoop up the now-harmless ball.

The levy finally broke in the 90^th minute, with just 52 seconds to play. Farinha again played the catalyst, as she took a pass from Perez-Acosta and then did the heavy lifting on the right side to work her way into the box and dust her defender. With Crapanzano calling for the ball near the penalty spot, Farinha fed the trailer on the play instead, as she laid the ball just outside the top of the penalty area and into the path of the onrushing Martikainen. The Finn stepped into her shot in stride and pumped the ball into the left side of the net for her first goal of the season.

The Ravens split goalkeeping duties once again on Wednesday. Sophomore Gabby Calidonio (Flagler Beach, Fla.) took the field for the first half and made two saves against three shots. Fellow sophomore Emilie Fox (Bridgewater, Mass.) tended the net in the second half, stopped both shots on her goal and was credited with the tie (1-0-1). Ewan (0-1-1) went the distance and made three saves against four shots in front of the Bentley net.

The Ravens are back in action at their home opener on Sunday, Sept. 4, when they host Goldey-Beacom at noon on Sodexo Field.