Veronica Marques
Veronica Marques

Marques Explodes For Five Points, #8 Ravens Pulverize Yellow Jackets 5-1 In Conference Quarterfinals

RINDGE, N.H. (October 30, 2018) – The no. 8 nationally-ranked and no. 1 seeded Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team dominated the no. 8 seed American International College Yellow Jackets to the tune of a season-best five goals in a 5-1 win Tuesday evening on Sodexo Field during the Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals. Junior forward Veronica Marques (Sao Paulo, Brazil) tallied two goals and one assist on four total shots in the Raven victory.

With the win, the Ravens improve to 13-1-2 overall and advance to the NE10 Semifinals on Friday. Franklin Pierce will host the no. 4 seeded College of Saint Rose Golden Knights at Sodexo Field with kick off slated for 7:00 p.m. The winner of that match will move on to the NE10 Championship Game Sunday. AIC ends their 2018 campaign at 9-9-1.

Marques helped push the Ravens ahead 1-0 in the 16th minute of play. The junior smoked a cross on the ground from the right post to the left side which was corralled by Raven junior forward Sophie Cousineau (Milton, Mass.). Cousineau corralled the ball and punched in a shot attempt to the left part of the net.

A couple of seconds later, a foul was called on the Ravens in the box. A penalty kick was awarded to the Yellow Jackets and senior midfielder Federica Frew took the chance. Frew walked in and ripped a shot right side of the cage past diving goalkeeper Casey Kane (Millis, Mass.). That was the only blemish on Kane's night as she made two saves for her 10th win of the season.

10 minutes passed until Marques struck for her first goal of the evening. Her 11th marker of the season was also the game-winner as she uncorked a one-timer via the left side to push Pierce ahead 2-1. Just before the intermission, Marques rocketed in a rebound off a cross punched away by Yellow Jackets netminder Alexandra Sanft.

In-between the two Marques markers, senior midfielder Nathalia Maria da Silva (Sai Paulo, Brazil) manufactured a ridiculous goal with her back towards the cage. Franklin Pierce's four first-half goals were a season-high.

Senior forward Bruna Tavares (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Gabi Pereira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) teamed up for an insurance score in the second half to give the Ravens the campaign match-high fifth goal.

The FPU backline did their job in this match as they held the Yellow Jackets to only four total shot attempts, they outshot AIC by a 16-to-4 margin and also held the edge in corner kicks. In two matches versus AIC this year the Ravens have outshot their opponent 23-to-5.

Sanft took the loss as she played only 45 minutes in net surrendering four goals. Mikayla Demanche came on in relief and stopped three shots in the second stanza.

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