RINDGE, N.H. (October 5, 2022) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team needed just 132 seconds to get the party started on Wednesday night, and it was all downhill from there for visiting American International. A third-minute goal by sophomore Eleanora Franco (Verona, Italy) stood as the game-winner, but the Ravens popped four more afterwards and cruised to a 5-0 victory in the Northeast-10 Conference contest at Sodexo Field. Sophomore Salome Kerguillec (Landerneau, France) had a career day, with five points on a pair of goals and an assist, to lead the way for Franklin Pierce.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 8-2-1 (5-2-0 NE10), while AIC falls to 4-3-3 (2-3-2 NE10). The five goals was the highest offensive output of the season thus far for the Ravens, and the most goals since a 6-0 win at Nyack on Sept. 11, 2021.

It was a strong individual effort for Franco in the third minute to get the Ravens off to a quick start. A poor back-pass by AIC sophomore Cameron Wilbur was picked off by Franco, already in full stride, some 40 yards from goal in the midfield with just one defender left to beat. Beat her she did, around the outside on the left, before putting a shot inside the right post from 10 yards out to tally her first goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce would double the lead at the 16-minute mark, with Franco adding an assist to make it a three-point day (1-1-3). Franco took a corner kick from the right wing and found the head of Kerguillec five yards in front of the left post. Kerguillec's header slipped into the lower-left corner for her second of the year.

The Ravens poured three more in during the second half to win going away. In the 50^th minute, sophomore Delaney Farinha (Preston, Conn.) had her shot from the right side saved, but Kerguillec was on the scene to clean up the rebound at point-blank range and tally her first career multiple-goal game. Just 2:06 later, in the 52^nd minute, Kerguillec took a free kick 25 yards from goal on the right side and served it into the goalmouth, where junior Gianna Derose (Brewster, N.Y.) was on-hand to knock home her first goal as a Raven. The capper came in the 68^th minute, after freshman Mollie Cahalane (Merrimac, Mass.) rang the right post and junior Aino Martikainen (Järvenpää, Finland) pumped the rebound into the top-left corner from 15 yards out for her second of the campaign.

Sophomore Emilie Fox (Bridgewater, Mass.) logged the first 82:40 in the Franklin Pierce net and picked up the win (4-1-1) after stopping all four shots on her goal. AIC could not put a shot on-target against freshman Bri Nugent (Killingworth, Conn.) over the final 7:20, as she made her collegiate debut and finished off the team's second straight shutout. It was the seventh clean sheet in 11 games on the season for the Ravens.

On the AIC side of the ledger, senior Olivia Sousa (4-3-3) started and made two saves against six shots over 55:39, before departing due to injury after a collision inside her six-yard box. Freshman Avery Lein came on to make her collegiate debut over the final 34:21 and allowed a goal on the only shot she faced.

The Ravens, who are a perfect 6-0-0 at Sodexo Field, now hit the road for five of their final six games. Next up is an NE10 tilt at Pace, set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, in Pleasantville, N.Y.