Senior pours home four goals

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (September 24, 2011) – Senior forward Tia Levins (Manchester, Maine) matched a program record by scoring four goals on Saturday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team rolled to a 5-1 road win over Southern Connecticut State in its Northeast-10 Conference opener at Jess Dow Field. Senior forward Ryan Morgan scored the lone goal in defeat for SCSU.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-5 (1-0 Northeast-10), while Southern Connecticut State falls to 2-7 (0-2 Northeast-10).

Levins is only the second player in program history to score four goals in a game, though a player has now done so in each of the last two years. Last season, Kayla Simeone notched four goals in an 8-2 win over Saint Anselm on Sept. 29, 2010 in Rindge. Simeone added an assist in that game and still holds the school record for most points in a game, with nine.

The four goals pushes Levins' career total to 24, which moves her into second in Franklin Pierce history. She is now just two goals behind Debbie Jones, who scored 26 goals from 2000-03.

Levins would net the only goal of the first half with 14:31 to play in the stanza, when she corralled a loose rebound near the goal line and stuffed home her fourth goal of the season. Franklin Pierce controlled the run of play for stretches of the first half, to the tune of a 9-3 advantage in shot attempts, though SCSU held a 4-3 edge in penalty corners.

The goals would come early and often in the second half for Levins and the Ravens. First, sophomore forward Chanelle Letarte (Lunenburg, Mass.) finished a pass in the middle of the circle from junior midfielder Megan Bird (Laconia, N.H.) for her third goal of the season. For Bird, it was the team-leading fourth assist of the season, and her first of two helpers on the afternoon.

Just 2:38 after the Letarte goal, Levins picked up her second goal of the game, when she found the back of the cage off the fourth assist of the season for senior forward Danielle Dolan (West Brookfield, Mass.). Levins would complete her first career hat trick with 19:57 to play in regulation. Once again, Bird would pick up the assist, as she sent the ball towards the cage and Levins deflected it behind the goalkeeper while it was en route.

Levins became only the sixth different Raven in school history to notch three goals in a game. Senior midfielder Kim Jaksina (Townsend, Mass.) is the only other current Raven to accomplish the feat, and was also the most recent player to do so, as she poured in three goals at Saint Michael's on Oct. 5, 2010.

Just 4:10 later, Levins would match Simeone's record with her fourth goal of the game. This time, senior forward Lauren L'Heureux (Sanford, Maine) tallied the assist, as she sent a pass into the circle that Levins redirected to the back of the cage.

SCSU would collect its lone goal off a penalty corner with 5:35 to play, as Morgan punched home a rebound for her first goal of the season, unassisted, to create the 5-1 final.

Senior goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro, Mass.) stopped four of the five shots on her cage to pick up the win (2-3) in front of the net for Franklin Pierce. Freshman Nicole Scionti made 12 saves on the 17 shots sent her way and took the loss (1-3) between the pipes for SCSU.

Franklin Pierce piled up a 16-9 advantage in shot attempts in the first half, to finish with a 25-12 advantage for the game, which included a 17-5 margin in shots on goal. SCSU was awarded eight penalty corners in the game, against six for the Ravens.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, Sept. 27, when they travel to Adelphi for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Motamed Field in Garden City, N.Y. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Saturday, Oct. 1 against Bentley at 1 p.m.

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).