RINDGE, N.H. (October 30, 2022) -- The No. 15 nationally-ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team and seventh-seeded Assumption packed an entire game's worth of action into the final five minutes of their Northeast-10 Championship quarterfinal match on Sunday afternoon. Chasing a goal for most of the second half, Assumption got an 87^th-minute equalizer from sophomore Maya Demello, and it appeared overtime was looming at Sodexo Field. The Ravens had other ideas though, as freshman Jenna Delgado (Gilroy, Calif.) found her first collegiate goal just 61 seconds later, to lift Franklin Pierce to the 2-1 victory.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 14-2-2, and advances to host third-seeded Adelphi in the semifinal round on Thursday, Nov. 3, at Sodexo Field, game time to be determined. With the loss, Assumption sees its season draw to a close at 5-6-6.

What the first half lacked in entertainment, the second half more than made up for on a resplendent fall afternoon in Rindge. Franklin Pierce found the game's first goal 6:56 into the second frame, in the 52^nd minute. From deep on the right-wing side, freshman Ruby Conroy (Hawthorne, N.J.) put a low cross into the goalmouth. Sophomore Salome Kerguillec (Landerneau, France) had the one-touch finish from the top of the six-yard box, as she was crashing towards the right post.

From there, the Ravens settled in defensively and looked to see the game out. Perhaps they got too complacent with the slim lead though, as they recorded only three shot attempts over the following half-hour, and the lack of an insurance marker left the door open for something as simple as an unlucky break to level the game.

Assumption found the luck it needed with just 3:27 to play, off an 87^th-minute free kick some 65 yards from goal, on its own half of the field. Sophomore Maya Demello took the free kick and served it all the way to the top of the Franklin Pierce six-yard box. The ball wound up deflecting off the head of a Franklin Pierce defender and into the right side of the net, for Demello's first collegiate goal.

The Franklin Pierce offense switched back on like a light following the equalizer, as the Ravens immediately generated pressure and forged the game-winner just 61 seconds later, in the 88^th minute. The play saw the ball ricocheting around the Assumption goalmouth as if in a pinball machine, before it eventually popped free for Delgado 10 yards in front of the net. The freshman stepped into her shot and buried her first career goal with just 2:26 to play in regulation to secure the team's first postseason victory since 2018.

Sophomore goalkeeper Emilie Fox (Bridgewater, Mass.) finished with two saves against three shots in the Franklin Pierce net to pick up the win (10-1-2). Sophomore Julia Walsh (5-6-4) made two saves against four shots at the other end for Assumption.