Written by Director of Athletic Communications Luke Tracy 

Raven Standouts:
Ruby Conroy: 1 Goal
Claudia Peirce: 1 Goal
Hailey Goodman: 1 Assist
Gianna Derose: 1 Assist
Emilie Fox: 3 Saves

WALTHAM, MASS. (09/07/2023) – Franklin Pierce University checked off its third win of the season Saturday night in a 2-1 victory over Bentley University.

Franklin Pierce improved to 3-2-4 (2-2-1, NE10) on the season. With the loss, the Falcons are now 3-2-2 (2-2-0, NE10). The game marked the first time the Northeast-10 opponents met this season after their first game was canceled in early September due to strong thunderstorms.

Franklin Pierce's offense came out aggressively almost scoring in the first two minutes. After a cross pass to the top of the goalie crease, Bentley's keeper made a diving save and while on the ground FPU junior Brianna Trappet (Newcastle, Australia) blasted a kick but the shot sailed high of the crossbar.

Trading offensive opportunities, the Ravens were first to get on the board in the 25^th minute. The goal scoring play started in the Raven's defensive end. Bentley had a corner kick that was nearly a goal, but a diving Emilie Fox (Bridgewater, Mass.) made the save and the Ravens quickly secured possession. Fox delivered a kick to midfield that was quickly passed to senior forward Hailey Goodman (Blackstone, Mass.) who pushed into the Raven's offensive zone. Positioning herself at the top corner of the box, Goodman smoked a right footer cross pass that was heading for the center of the goalie crease.  Sprinting shoulder to shoulder with her defender, sophomore Ruby Conroy (Hawthorne, N.J.) made it to the ball first and hit a header by the Bentley goalie who then collided with her own defender. With the goal, the Ravens went up 1-0.

The score remained the same until the Ravens secured some breathing room later in the second half. In the 56^th minute, FPU cleared the ball through midfield and pushed forward with speed. Senior midfielder Giana Derose (Brewster, N.Y.) passed the ball up field which turned into a foot race between three Bentley defenders and FPU sophomore midfielder Claudia Peirce (Carver, Mass.). The combination of a precision pass and the speed from Peirce forced Bentley's goalie to push out aggressively and try to make a save. With a quick step left, Peirce made the keeper miss leaving a wide-open net. Firing the shot, Peirce easily delivered the 2-0 lead for the Ravens.  

Less than a minute later, Bentley was able to score their first and only goal of the game off a fast break opportunity from Bridget Gleason. Though it cut the Raven's lead to one, the Falcons couldn't piece together a come back and the Ravens returned to Rindge with the 2-1 win.

Next for the Ravens: After a five game road trip, the Ravens return to their home turn on Wednesday October, 11 when the team will take on Saint Anselm in a non-conference game at 7PM.