RINDGE, N.H. (March 1, 2020) – On a blustery day at Sodexo Field, the Franklin Pierce University women's lacrosse team struggled with the conditions at times, but ultimately took care of business in the team's home opener on Sunday afternoon. Junior midfielder Zoe Totland (Salt Lake City, Utah) scored four goals, while sophomore attack Morgan Baxendale (Orchard Park, N.Y.) notched four points of her own (3-1-4), as the Ravens chalked up a 15-5, non-conference victory over visiting Dominican (N.Y.). The two teams combined to commit 40 turnovers, as the cold weather and wind wreaked havoc with both offenses over the course of the afternoon.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 2-1, while Dominican falls to 0-3.

Dominican opened the scoring on Sunday, as senior attack Alayna Heegan controlled the opening draw, ran down the field and put a shot into the lower-left corner of the net just 11 seconds into the proceedings. Franklin Pierce quickly asserted its control from there though. Freshman midfielder Katie Hadden (Newburyport, Mass.) took a feed from sophomore attack Savannah Ernst (American Fork, Utah) out front and tied the game 4:18 into the half. Baxendale followed with a pair of goals just 31 seconds apart, both after carrying the ball out front on her own, as the Ravens took a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish.

After Heegan put a left-wing free-position shot into the left side of the net to make it 3-2, the Ravens rattled off the final eight goals of the first half to take an 11-2 lead into the intermission. Totland scored three times in the run, while Baxendale and senior attack Bella Lima (Hudson, Mass.) added a goal and an assist each. Hadden capped the half with one minute to play, as she took a free-position at the top of the arc and put a low shot home for the second of her two goals on the afternoon. 

Franklin Pierce outscored Dominican 4-3 in the second half, as the pace slowed down after the Ravens opened up the big scoring margin. Freshman attack Gabby Oswald (Nedrow, N.Y.) scored her first two collegiate goals for Franklin Pierce in the second half.

Totland (4-0-4), Baxendale (3-1-4) and Lima (2-1-3) all had at least three points on the day for Franklin Pierce, while Hadden and Oswald each scored twice. Sophomore midfielder Jenna Cimbron (Bristol, R.I.) led the team with four draw controls, while the two team captains, junior attack Caroline Lounsbury (Franklin, Mass.) and senior defender Sarah Waldrep (North Andover, Mass.), picked up three ground balls each. Cimbron caused a trio of turnovers.

For Dominican, Heegan scored three goals and was the only Charger to tally multiple points on the day. Senior midfielder Jenna Fox matched Cimbron with four draw controls.

Senior goalkeeper Casey Butera (West Milford, N.J.) finished with four saves against nine shots to pick up the win (2-0) in net for Franklin Pierce. Sophomore Rebecca Nutting (0-3) made just four saves against 19 shots in the loss for Dominican.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, March 4, when they remain home to host Stonehill in their Northeast-10 Conference opener. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at Sodexo Field.

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' brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).