Burnell picks up lone goal

LOWELL, Mass. (October 6, 2012) – Sophomore midfielder Bianca Jones, junior forward Rachel McCarthy and junior forward Melissa Effertz all scored two goals each on Saturday afternoon to lead No. 4 nationally ranked Massachusetts Lowell to a 9-1 win over the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Cushing Field. Freshman forward Chelsey Burnell (West Baldwin, Maine) scored her first career goal in the loss for Franklin Pierce.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-11 (1-6 Northeast-10), while Massachusetts Lowell improves to 11-2 (6-1 Northeast-10).

Lowell struck for four goals in the opening 22:43 of the game to take a commanding lead it would never relinquish. At the 10:09 mark, McCarthy opened the scoring with her 16th goal of the season, as she knocked home a centering feed from Effertz. Just 3:28 later, Jones would knock home a rebound to score her first goal of the campaign. At the 20:02 mark, sophomore midfielder Chelsea Chronopoulos took a shot that deflected off the defense and to the back of the cage for her first goal of the year. Another 2:41 after that, Effertz got on the board with an unassisted tally, her 12th of the season.

Burnell picked up the initial goal of her collegiate career off a penalty corner at 25:08, to temporarily reduce the deficit to 4-1. Junior midfielder Jessica Rogers (Uxbridge, Mass.) injected the corner to junior midfielder Alesia Gleason (Ipswich, Mass.) at the top of the circle, and Gleason sent it on the right side to Burnell. Burnell fired from there to get the Ravens on the board.

Effertz notched her second of the game by one-timing home a through ball from senior back Sarah Wilcox at 28:45 to reclaim the four-goal lead for the River Hawks before the halftime break. Wilcox finished with four assists on the afternoon.

McCarthy, Jones, sophomore forward Kristina Krull and freshman back Kelly Freitas all scored in the second half for Lowell to create the 9-1 final.

Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Cote (Athol, Mass.) made four saves against 13 shots on her goal and took the loss (3-11) in net for Franklin Pierce. Junior Melanie Hopkins played the first half for Massachusetts Lowell, made one save against two shots on her cage and earned the win (11-2) between the pipes.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, Oct. 10, when they return home to host Bentley in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

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 field hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).