Pelley collects six points to lead Purple Knights to second-straight win

Boxscore 

COLCHESTER, Vt. (April 1, 2009) - Saint Michael's College withstood a late Franklin Pierce University rally to claim a 9-8 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action at Duffy Field this afternoon.

Senior midfielder Amanda Pelley (Mashpee, Mass./Falmouth) led Saint Michael's to its second-straight win with three goals and three assists for six points. Classmate Kim Berlo (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) added three goals and two assists in the victory.

Sophomore Lauren Stille (North Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) led Franklin Pierce with three goals and an assist for four points. Classmate Jordan Baillargeon (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) added a goal and two assists for three points as the Ravens saw their two-game win streak halted.

Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan McLaughlin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) made five saves (all second half) to preserve the victory for Saint Michael's. Freshman Jillian Bolduc (Atkinson, N.H./Timberlane) finished with seven stops in goal for Franklin Pierce. Shots finished at 26 apiece for the two sides, with Saint Michael's posting an 18-9 advantage in the first half and Franklin Pierce out-shooting the hosts 17-8 over the final 30 minutes.

Saint Michael's stormed out to a five-goal lead in the opening 10:12. Pelley netted two goals and added a pair of assists during that stretch, while Berlo added two goals and an assist. Franklin Pierce scored the final three goals of the half to cut its deficit to 5-3 at halftime. Baillargeon played a role in two of those markers with a goal and assist.

Franklin Pierce kept the rally going with the first two goals, one each from sophomore Ashley Moirano (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) and freshman Brianna Nash (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside), to knot the score at 5-5, 7:16 into the second half. The teams traded goals before Saint Michael's regained a three-goal lead (9-6) after a goal from Berlo with 3:47 left in the match. She also dished an assist during the three-goal run in which the Purple Knights scored twice on free position shots.

Franklin Pierce didn't go quietly, scoring twice in the span of 32-seconds to draw within one (9-8) after a goal from freshman Christine McKay (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) with 2:22 on the clock. However, Saint Michael's controlled the ensuing draw and maintained possession enough to keep the Ravens at bay. 

Franklin Pierce (3-4, 1-3 NE-10) is back in action on Sunday when it hosts No. 1-ranked Adelphi University at noon. Saint Michael's (2-4, 2-1 NE-10) visits No. 9 Stonehill College on Friday at 4 p.m.