Women’s Lacrosse Stymied at No. 12 Stonehill in Season Opener, 17-3

Beville scores twice in defeat

EASTON, Mass. (March 3, 2015) – Stonehill junior attack Caitlin Sweeney scored a game-high four goals on Tuesday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team suffered a 17-3 loss at the hands of the No. 12 nationally ranked Skyhawks in Northeast-10 Conference play at W.B. Mason Stadium. Junior attack Lauren Beville (Jamesville, N.Y.) scored twice in defeat for Franklin Pierce.

The contest was the season opener for both sides, as Franklin Pierce opens the season at 0-1 (0-1 Northeast-10), while Stonehill starts off at 1-0 (1-0 Northeast-10). Much like the season opener for Franklin Pierce's men's team on Sunday in Rindge, W.B. Mason Stadium was closed to spectators on Tuesday, due to unsafe conditions relating to snowbound bleachers.

Stonehill ran off the first eight goals over the opening 14:12 on Tuesday and never looked back. Sweeney scored twice in the opening run, while the Skyhawks put home four free-position goals to start a 6-for-10 day from the arc. Senior attack Mikayla Couch scored twice as well, while senior midfielder Lizzie Lane added a goal and an assist.

Franklin Pierce cut the gap to 8-2 with back-to-back goals around the midpoint of the first half. Beville put home the first goal of her junior campaign with 15:26 to play in the stanza and junior attack Nicole Dale (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) converted a feed from freshman midfielder Brianna Sweeney (Shirley, N.Y.) with 14:13 remaining. For Dale, it was her first goal since March 19, 2014, as she missed the season's final eight games a year ago due to injury. For Brianna Sweeney, the assist was her first career point in her collegiate debut.

The second goal of the game for senior attack Cassandra McGill came with 4:22 to play in the first half and sent Stonehill into the halftime break with a 9-2 lead.

Stonehill scored the first seven goals of the second half to push the lead as high as 16-2. Caitlin Sweeney had two more scores along the way, while McGill and Couch also added another goal each. Beville had the lone second-half tally for Franklin Pierce, off of a free-position attempt with 3:20 to play. With 1:49 to go, sophomore attack Kiki Ryan capped the day's scoring for Stonehill to create the 17-3 final.

Senior goalkeeper Julia Coakley (Bridgewater, Mass.) started in goal for Franklin Pierce, but made just one save against nine shots over the opening 14:12 and suffered the loss (0-1) for the Ravens. Sophomore Denise Hunt (Hull, Mass.) went the rest of the way between the pipes and made five saves against 14 shots over the remaining 45:48. Senior Ashley Armstrong went the distance in net for Stonehill, made two saves against five shots and picked up the win (1-0).

The Ravens return to the field on Sunday, March 8, when they travel to St. Thomas Aquinas for a non-conference contest. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Spartan Field in Sparkill, N.Y.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).