Recap by Director of Athletic Communications Luke Tracy 

RINDGE, N.H. (2/20/2024) – The Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team grabbed its second win of the season Tuesday afternoon in a close 9-7 victory over the Eagles of Post University.

Score: Franklin Pierce 9, Post 7
Records: Franklin Pierce 2-0 (0-0, NE10), Post 1-2 (0-0, CACC)
Location: Rindge, N.H. (Sodexo Field)
Date: February 20, 2024

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Ravens and Eagles butted heads through the first half, going eye-for-eye in each other's offensive zones. After a scoreless first six minutes of the game, senior attackman Conor Rooney (Wilmington, Mass.) put the Ravens on the board first. Driving from X, Rooney pushed the right side and after getting above GLE, took a left-handed shovel shot that picked the top left corner.
• Post trailed for six minutes until the Eagles' junior attackman Robbie McGrayne tied it up. The Eagles attacked from the right alley and after a few quick passes, Tim Keefe found McGrayne sitting by the left pipe. Catching the skip pass, McGrayne threw a head fake and buried the game tying goal.
• 90-seconds later, the Ravens secured their second lead of the game after Jackson Hale (Kensington, N.H.) dodged downhill from the top of the box and landed a bounce shot into the back of the net. Closing out the first quarter the Ravens held a 2-1 lead.
• Heading to the second quarter, the Eagles responded with back-to-back unanswered goals from Malcolm Nordquist and Robbie McGrayne which gave them the 3-2 lead. 40-seconds after going down a goal, the Ravens tied the game again. Jackson Hale worked the two-man game with Rooney at X and drove the right side of the cage. Fighting through a double, Hale delivered his second unassisted goal of the afternoon and made it a 3-3 game. Neither team found the back of the net in the following five minutes so the Ravens and Eagles went into halftime with five goals a-piece.
• The third quarter generated a game high six combined goals between the two non-conference teams. At 11:31, Leighton Cooke scored an unassisted goal to give the Eagles their second lead of the game, 4-3.
• The Ravens responded on a man-up opportunity after Jackson Hale drove from behind the net, passed up to Ethan Cote (North Smithfield, R.I.), who then painted the top left corner which tied the game 4-4.
• Less than two minutes later, the Eagles grabbed the 5-4 lead off a goal from Noah Piette.
• With just under three minutes left in the third, the Ravens had another man-up opportunity which let Conor Rooney unleash an 11-yard step down shot which went stick-side high to even the game at 5 a-piece. 70-seconds later, the Ravens took the lead for the first time since the first quarter after Ethan Cote buried a low bouncer by the Post goalie.
• In the final minute of the third, Post tied the game 6-6 again after an unassisted goal from Dylan Heald.
• Post scored another unanswered goal early in the fourth quarter, but after that the Ravens took flight on both sides of the field. Conor Rooney grabbed two unassisted goals to tie and take the 8-7 lead. Jackson Hale followed with a man-up dagger that offered breathing room for the Ravens in the final minute of the game. Strong defense, a pair of missed shots, and a final minute save from junior Raven goalie Mike Masterpolo (Kingston, Mass.) secured the Ravens' second win of the season.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS:

• Conor Rooney led the Ravens with six points including four goals and two assists.
• Jackson Hale chipped in an impressive five points off three goals and two assists.
• Ethan Cote was the only other Raven to score after he dumped in two goals.
• Mike Masterpolo played all 60 minutes of Tuesday's game and made 11 saves on 18 shots on cage.
• The Ravens and Eagles split at the faceoff X  with after both teams went 10-20.
• The teams also matched each other on turnovers with 17 a-piece.
• The Ravens outshot the Eagles 38-34.
• Man Up opportunities helped the Ravens secure Tuesdays win as the team went 3-6 on the powerplay. Post had one unsuccessful man-up opportunity.
• In the groundball game, the Eagles came out on top with 22 compared to the Ravens' 16.

NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: The Ravens return to Sodexo for their third home game of the season on Saturday, March 2^nd, to take on Caldwell at 12:00 PM.