Men's Lacrosse Gets Back on Winning Track with 11-5 Triumph over Assumption

Malcom Sutton scoops up team-high tying four ground balls

RINDGE, N.H. (March 25, 2014) – Sophomore midfielder Brenden Caldeira (Sandwich, Mass.) poured in three goals on just three shots taken Tuesday, to help lift the Franklin Pierce University men’s lacrosse team to an 11-5 triumph over Assumption at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

The Ravens got back on the winning track in improving to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Greyhounds dropped their third straight in falling to 3-5 and 1-4 in league play.

Caldeira was one of seven different Ravens to score in the contest, including two goals apiece from Erik Kelly (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Eddie Noonan (Foxboro, Mass.). Noonan added two assists to total a four-point afternoon, while Caldeira equaled him in that area as well with an assist of his own.

The Ravens popped in the game’s first three goals on strikes from Kelly, Connor Defemia (Ellington, Conn.), and Alex Connolly (West Newbury, Mass.), and after Assumption bridged the first and second quarters with three consecutive tallies of their own, Franklin Pierce busted it open with four strikes to cap the quarter and take a 7-3 lead at the intermission.

Noonan and Casey Burnett (Windham, N.H.) threw in back-to-back unassisted strikes, and Kevin Dargin (Littleton, Mass.) followed 53 seconds after Burnett’s tally with a goal of his own off a nice dish from Dylan Leone (Tewksbury, Mass.).

Caldeira chipped in his first marker with just :17 left in the half, and then opened the scoring in the second half with a tally late in the third quarter.

Kelly threw in a man-up marker less than a minute later before Assumption was finally able to stem the tide with a goal from Peter Gersbeck.  The Greyhounds could never threaten, though, and Caldeira and Noonan each threw in a goal off assists from Dargin, to put the game out of reach in the fourth.

The Ravens held a slim 32-30 edge in shots, while holding Assumption to an 0-for-8 clip in man-up opportunities.

The Greyhounds did keep the pressure on the Ravens’ defense all afternoon, but Franklin Pierce was able to hold strong on the back end to preserve the win. Junior goalie Don Denman (Exeter, N.H.) stood strong in net by making 11 saves to run his record to 4-2 on the year. Defemia led the charge with two caused turnovers and four ground balls, while Malcolm Sutton (Hooksett, N.H.) picked up four grounders as well to share in the team-high honors.

Gersbeck paced Assumption with a pair of goals, while Will Contento was saddled with the loss in goal by yielding seven tallies to fall to 2-4 on the year.

Franklin Pierce looks to make it a two-game winning streak Saturday when the Ravens play host to American International at 11 a.m. on Sodexo Field.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s lacrosse, 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 men’s lacrosse apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)