Dale, Shopshire net four goals each

KEENE, N.H. (March 8, 2014) – Junior attack Madeline Shopshire (Hyannis, Mass.) and sophomore attack Nicole Dale (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) scored three second-half goals each on Saturday morning, but it would not be enough to erase a nine-goal second-half deficit, as the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team dropped a 14-9 decision to Keene State in non-conference play at Owl Athletic Complex. Sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Nolan finished with five goals in the win for Keene State.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-1 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Keene State improves to 2-1 (0-0 Little East).

The first half was nearly all Keene State on the scoreboard, despite a 14-10 advantage for Franklin Pierce in shot attempts, though each team put nine shots on goal. Keene State scored the game's first three goals, highlighted by back-to-back scores from Nolan, to make it a 3-0 game 12:32 into the contest. Shopshire halted the run momentarily, as she scored near the midpoint of the first half, but then Nolan added her third of the day to kick-start another 3-0 run for the Owls, who led 6-1 with 5:05 to play before halftime. Shopshire set up Dale's first goal of the day with 11 seconds left in the period to cut the gap to 6-2 heading into the intermission.

Keene State was dominant coming out of the locker room, and scored seven of the first nine goals in the second half to stretch the lead as high as 13-4 with 17:30 to play. Nolan had another goal in the run, while senior midfielder Eliza Witherbee added two goals and an assist and freshman attack Kelly Chadnick and senior attack Julie Trombetta scored twice each. When all was said and done, Keene State piled up a 21-11 edge in shot attempts in the second half.

The Franklin Pierce offense came alive from there and briefly threatened to pull off a dramatic comeback, as the Ravens scored five of the game's final six goals to create the 14-9 final before running out of time. After Witherbee made it 13-4 with 17:30 to play, Franklin Pierce scored twice in the next 53 seconds and three times in the next 3:05 to cut the gap to 13-7 as Dale, Shopshire and sophomore attack Nicole Beliveau (Westfield, Mass.) all found the back of the net. Nolan stopped the run with her fifth and final goal of the day, as she capitalized on a free-position attempt to make it 14-7 with 10:33 to play.

Keene State clamped down the defense after the final Nolan goal, as the next eight minutes went without scoring on either side, effectively salting the game away for the Owls. Shopshire struck twice in the final 106 seconds to cap the day's scoring.

Junior goalkeeper Julia Coakley (Bridgewater, Mass.) started in net for Franklin Pierce and logged the first 40:34, before being lifted in favor of senior Jacqueline Jolles (Hamden, Conn.), who played the next 8:53 before Coakley returned to finish the game. In all, Coakley made 12 saves against 23 shots on goal over 51:07 and took the loss (1-1) for the Ravens. Jolles stopped one of four shots on her net. At the other end of the field, senior Erin Taylor made 11 saves against 20 shots on goal to pick up the win (2-1) between the pipes for Keene State.

The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, March 13, when they travel to New Haven for their Northeast-10 Conference opener. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Kayo Field in West Haven, Conn.

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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).