SPRINGFIED, Mass. (February 23, 2019) – Four different players had at least five points on Saturday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team cruised to a 20-10 win in its Northeast-10 Conference opener on the road at American International. Junior attack Morgan Riley (Jamesville, N.Y.) led the way with six goals, while freshman attack Savannah Ernst (American Fork, Utah) added six points of her own at Abdow Field, on five goals and one assist.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 2-0 (1-0 NE10), while American International falls to 0-2 (0-1 NE10).

American International struck for the first two goals on Saturday, courtesy of senior midfielder Mikayla Demanche and freshman attack Sam Giordano, but it was all Ravens from there. Franklin Pierce put home the next five goals, including a pair from sophomore attack Caroline Lounsbury (Franklin, Mass.), and never looked back. After jumping out to the 5-2 lead, the Ravens would never lead by fewer than two goals the rest of the way. Franklin Pierce closed the half on a 7-1 run, which included three goals for Riley and a pair for Ernst, to take a 12-5 lead into halftime.

The Ravens extended the run all the way out to 10-1, by scoring the first three goals of the second half as well, including a pair of markers from junior attack Bella Lima (Hudson, Mass.), who scored four times on the day. With Franklin Pierce staked to a 15-5 lead, the two teams would trade 10 goals the rest of the way as the Ravens went on to the 10-goal victory. Riley had a pair of goals down the stretch to finish her day with a half-dozen tallies.

Riley (6-0-6), Ernst (5-1-6), Lounsbury (4-1-5) and freshman midfielder Jenna Cimbron (Bristol, R.I.) (1-4-5) all finished with at least five points for Franklin Pierce on Saturday. Cimbron led all players with seven draw controls.

Defensively, sophomore midfielder Zoe Totland (Salt Lake City, Utah) snagged four ground balls, while Ernst filled out her stat line with two ground balls, two caused turnovers and four draw controls.

For AIC, senior attack Mary Bates went for five points (3-2-5), while Demanche added four goals, but there was not much for the Yellow Jackets beyond that. Sophomore attack Reagan Nichols picked up five ground balls and freshman defender Madi Bis added four, while sophomore midfielder Brianna O'Brien corralled five draw controls.

Franklin Pierce split goalkeeping duties in Saturday's conference opener. Freshman Megan Bacik (Huntington Station, N.Y.) spent the first half in the crease and made five saves against 10 shots to pick up the win (2-0), while junior Casey Butera (West Milford, N.J.) stopped three of eight shots in the second half.

Junior netminder Chelsea Davis (0-2) went the distance at the other end of the field and made 10 saves against 30 shots in the losing effort for AIC.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, Feb. 27, when they return home for the first time this season to host Southern New Hampshire in an NE10 contest. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge. 

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).