NEW HAVEN, Conn. (October 28, 2018) – Headed into the final day of the regular season with the top spot in the Northeast-10 Conference still up for grabs, the No. 11 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team made sure to take care of business on its own, rather than leave its fate to the results of the league's other teams. Junior forward Sophie Cousineau (Milton, Mass.) and senior forward Bruna Tavares (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) potted first-half goals, as the Ravens wrapped up the NE10 regular season title with a 2-1 win on the road over Southern Connecticut State at Jess Dow Field.

With the win, Franklin Pierce closes out the regular season at 12-1-2 (11-1-2 NE10), while SCSU falls to 9-9-0 (8-6-0 NE10), with both teams qualified for next week's NE10 Championship.

By locking up the top seed, the Ravens will host the NE10 Championship as long as they remain alive in the tournament. First up, Franklin Pierce will take on eighth-seeded American International in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

Franklin Pierce's two goals came in quick succession on Sunday, as Cousineau and Tavares struck just 3:02 apart in the middle of the first half. Tavares picked up an assist as well, as she set up Cousineau's opener in the 22^nd minute. Tavares sent the cross in from the left-wing side, over to the right side of the box, where the pass found Cousineau. Cousineau then put her finish to the top-left corner of the goal for her fourth goal of the season.

Tavares followed with her fifth goal of the campaign in the 25^th minute, this one an unassisted tally. She took her shot from 20 yards out and put it right through the hands of SCSU freshman goalkeeper Abigail Allen.

The Owls cut the deficit in half, with a goal late in the second half, but would never threaten to tie things up. In the 90^th minute, with just 17 seconds to play, freshman back Greta Burnello put home her second goal of the season, as she finished things off on a corner kick.

The Ravens attempted 16 shots on the day, against eight for SCSU, which included a lopsided, 11-1 edge for Franklin Pierce in the first half. Each team recorded five shots on goal in the game.

Freshman goalkeeper Casey Kane (Millis, Mass.) finished with four saves against five shots on goal to pick up the win (9-1-2) in front of the Franklin Pierce goal. Allen (8-7-0) stopped three of five shots on her net and suffered the loss for SCSU.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). 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 soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).