Danielle Dolan nets first collegiate goal for Ravens

Boxscore

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Sept. 2, 2008) – Freshman forward Danielle Dolan (West Brookfield, Mass./Quaboag Regional) notched her first career goal on Tuesday night, but the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team dropped a 2-1 decision to Southern Connecticut State in Northeast-10 Conference play at Jess Dow Field. The contest was the conference opener for both schools.

After over 25 minutes of scoreless play, SCSU tallied two goals in a span of 2:20, the only goals scored in the first half. First, sophomore midfielder Ann Berry (Belfast, Maine/Belfast Area) scored her third goal of the season at the 26:46 mark when she tipped in a pass from senior midfielder Whitney Martin (Harwinton, Conn./Lewis Mills). Soon thereafter, sophomore forward Kim Merritt (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) gave the Owls a 2-0 lead when she redirected a shot by freshman midfielder Brittany Barra (Goshen, Conn./Wamogo) between her own legs and into the cage.

Play was fairly even in the first half, with SCSU holding a slim, 9-8 advantage in shots.

After nearly 20 more scoreless minutes to open the second half, Dolan got the Ravens on the board with just over 15 minutes to play. She took a feed from junior forward Ashley Abernethy (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham) and put a shot between the legs of SCSU sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Zarella (Morris, Conn./Wamogo) to cut the Franklin Pierce deficit in half. However, the Ravens could not find the tying goal over the remaining 15:13 and fell by a 2-1 score for the second consecutive game.

Franklin Pierce dominated play for much of the second half to the tune of a 7-3 shots advantage and enjoyed a 15-12 edge for the game.

Zarella made six saves in net to earn the save for Southern Connecticut State. Freshman goalkeeper Kristin Tormollan (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) made five saves for Franklin Pierce in defeat.

The Ravens (0-2, 0-1 NE-10) return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 6 when they return home to host Merrimack in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Sodexo Field in Rindge, N.H. SCSU (1-2, 1-0 NE-10) returns to action on Sept. 6 at Saint Anselm.