SPARKILL, N.Y. (February 17, 2019) – Freshman attack Savannah Ernst (American Fork, Utah) went for a half-dozen in her collegiate debut on Sunday afternoon, as she scored six times to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team to an 18-5, season-opening win on the road at St. Thomas Aquinas. Sophomore attack Caroline Lounsbury (Franklin, Mass.) added three goals and an assist, while sophomore midfielder Zoe Totland (Salt Lake City, Utah) tallied two goals and two assists, as each recorded four points in the non-conference victory at Spartan Field. Franklin Pierce held the Spartans scoreless in the second half.

With the win, Franklin Pierce opens its season at 1-0, while St. Thomas Aquinas falls to 0-1.

Franklin Pierce took the lead for good within the first four minutes on Sunday afternoon. Ernst opened her career in style, as she scored 2:14 and 3:24 into the proceedings, with the latter coming off of an assist from Lounsbury. After the 10-minute mark, the Ravens would use consecutive goals from Totland, on a free-position, as well as Lounsbury and junior attack Morgan Riley (Jamesville, N.Y.), to extend the lead out to four goals, at 6-2. Franklin Pierce would never lead by fewer than two goals the rest of the way.

The Ravens took solid control of the game over the final 10 minutes and change of the opening frame. Freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Daly (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) notched her first collegiate goal with 10:15 remaining, Totland found the net with 7:11 to go, junior attack Bella Lima (Hudson, Mass.) put away a goal with 6:40 on the clock, and then Ernst scored with 5:52 and 57 seconds remaining before halftime. St. Thomas Aquinas scored just once during the stretch, as the Ravens finished the half on a 5-1 run and took an 11-5 lead into halftime.

The second half was all Franklin Pierce, as the Ravens poured in seven more goals, and did not surrender any, while running the final score to 18-5. Erns opened the half with a pair of goals to cap her six-score day, while freshman midfielder Jenna Cimbron (Bristol, R.I.) put home her first two collegiate goals.

Lima had three goals on the day, while Daly added an assist to round out the team's multiple-point scorers on the afternoon. Because the Ravens were so dominant offensively, there was not much to write home about defensively, though junior defender Sarah Waldrep (North Andover, Mass.) finished with three ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Cimbron recorded three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Totland gobbled up six draw controls to lead all players.

For St. Thomas Aquinas, sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Gutenberger (three goals) and junior attack Gabrielle Di Fusco (two goals) accounted for the entirety of the scoring, as the Spartans were held without an assist and to just the quintet of goals of the day. Freshman midfielder Leanna Iobbi and sophomore midfielder Arielle Rodriguez collected three ground balls each for the Spartans, while Iobbi nabbed three draw controls.

Freshman goalkeeper Megan Bacik (Huntington, N.Y.) got the win (1-0) in her collegiate debut, as she made six saves against 11 shots in the first half. Junior netminder Casey Butera (West Milford, N.J.) took over for the second half and stopped the only shot she faced.

St. Thomas Aquinas split goalkeeping duties as well on Sunday. Senior Laura Delorenzo (0-1) was saddled with the loss, after she finished with five saves against 16 shots in the first half. Senior Katherine Feigenbaum stopped six of 13 shots in the second half.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Feb. 23, when they travel to American International to open Northeast-10 Conference play. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Motamed Field in Springfield, Mass. 

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 lacrosse apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).