Hislop's second-half brace saves
Ravens for first regular season win over Warriors in three
seasons
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.
(September 28, 2005) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 9 in
this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, rallied from a very early two-goal
deficit for a 3-2 victory over Merrimack College, ranked fifth in
the New England Region, in a key Northeast-10 Conference women's
soccer match at Warrior Field tonight.
Senior All-American
Laura Hislop's (Belfast, Northern
Ireland) second-half double completed the comeback
for Franklin Pierce who found itself two goals down just 3:20 into
the match. Hislop netted the winner with just 51-seconds to play
after equalizing the match 8:05 into the second
half.
The win marked the Ravens fourth
comeback win of the season and third straight. Merrimack struck
just 59-seconds into the match when senior Lindsay
Sheffield (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) took a pass
from junior Laura Asbell (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine
Prep) and scored on a high shot from 15-yards out.
The goal was the second in as many matches yielded by Franklin
Pierce in the opening minute of a match. Stonehill struck just
11-seconds into last Wednesday's 3-1 Raven win at Sodexho Field.
Merrimack's lead was doubled at
3:20 when freshman Caitlin Hall (Westminster,
Mass./Oakmont) headed in a cross from senior
Hilary Caccamo (Milton, Mass./Milton),
putting Franklin Pierce two goals down for the second time this
season.
Unlike the Assumption match, which
Franklin Pierce trailed 2-0 after a half, the Ravens cut the
deficit before the break when freshman Rebecca Westbury
(Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) netted her first
collegiate goal off a corner kick from senior All-American
Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) at
24:29.
Hislop equalized in the
54th minute, off a feed from sophomore Taryn
Welker (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga), with a low drive into
the right corner. Hughes set up Hislop's winner, another low blast
to the right corner, to give the Ravens their first regular season
win over the Warriors since 2002.
Sophomore Shannon Rowan
(Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) and junior
Caitlin Stephan (Northboro,
Mass./Algonquin) split the goalkeeping duties for
Merrimack. Rowan stopped five shots, yielding just a goal, in the
first half, while Stephan made three saves and allowed two markers
in the second half. Sophomore Jenna Mello (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) finished with one save for Franklin
Pierce, which out-shot the hosts, 20-12.
Franklin Pierce (7-1-1, 5-1-1
NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it visits rival Southern
New Hampshire University at 7 p.m. Merrimack (6-3, 3-3 NE-10) hosts
Saint Anselm College on Saturday at 3 p.m.
MATCH
STATISTICS
