Jaksina nets game-winner to keep Ravens in playoff chase
Box Score
RINDGE, N.H. (October 21,
2009) – Sophomore forward Danielle Dolan
(West Brookfield, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder
Kimberly Jaksina (Townsend, Mass.) scored 3:32
apart early in the second half on Wednesday night to lead the
Franklin Pierce University field hockey team back from a 2-1
deficit to a 3-2 victory over Saint Anselm in Northeast-10
Conference play at Sodexo Field. Junior midfielder Ellen
O'Neil and junior back Sara Griffin each scored for Saint
Anselm in defeat.
With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 8-9 (4-5 Northeast-10)
and stays alive in the hunt for the conference's final
postseason berth. With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 1-15 (0-9
Northeast-10).
Franklin Pierce found itself with its back to the wall in a hurry,
as Saint Anselm took a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the
game. First, just less than eight minutes into the game,
O'Neil scored her first goal of the season as she corralled a
loose ball amidst a scramble out front and put it home, as junior
forward Annie Heaney was credited with the assist. Less than seven
minutes later, Griffin potted her second goal of the season in
similar fashion. She buried a loose ball in the cage after senior
forward Karrie Muma's shot attempt was stopped by the
defense.
The Ravens would get one of the goals back before the break. Just
over six minutes after Griffin's goal, Franklin Pierce senior
forward Ashley Abernethy (Bellingham, Mass.)
stripped the ball from the defense in front of the cage and put it
just inside the left post for her third goal of the season. The
14th goal of her career moved Abernethy into fourth-place all-time
in program history.
Franklin Pierce controlled stretches of play over the opening 35
minutes, finishing the first half with a 10-4 advantage in shots
and a 6-2 edge in penalty corners.
The Ravens would turn the 2-1 halftime deficit into a 3-2 lead in
the first 12 minutes of the second half. Just over eight minutes
into the frame, junior midfielder Jordan Baillargeon
(Westfield, Mass.) sent the ball into the circle from the
left side. The pass found the stick of Dolan, who redirected it
into the cage to pick up her fifth goal of the season and tie the
game at 2-2.
Less than four minutes later, Jaksina stole the ball near the top
of the circle as the Saint Anselm defense attempted to clear it
out. She then turned and fired a shot that cleanly beat Saint
Anselm freshman goalkeeper Lindsay MacDonald to give Jaksina her
fifth goal of the season and the Ravens a lead they would hold the
rest of the way.
Franklin Pierce dominated the second half of play, as it held Saint
Anselm without a shot attempt, while the Ravens took 13 shots of
their own. The Ravens were awarded 14 penalty corners in the second
half to finish with 20 for the game, while the Hawks went without a
penalty corner in the second stanza.
Sophomore goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro,
Mass.) picked up the win (7-8) in net for Franklin Pierce.
MacDonald made eight saves against 11 shots, but took the loss
(1-14) between the pipes for Saint Anselm.
The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Oct. 24, when travel to
Saint Michael's to wrap up the regular season with a
Northeast-10 Conference contest. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
at Duffy Field in Colchester, Vt.
