Nyzio and Levins tie program records during victory
Moirano celebrated her Senior Day with two goals in the 6-0 win over Saint Michael's, as the Ravens wrapped up a postseason spot.
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RINDGE, N.H. (November 6, 2010) – The Franklin Pierce University field hockey team clinched a spot in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Playoffs on Saturday following its satisfying 6-0 win over Saint Michael's at Sodexo Field in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 8-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play, while the Purple Knights dipped to 3-13 and 1-7 in league action.
A pair of Ravens had record-tying afternoons in the win, as junior goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro, Mass.) tied the program record for career wins with 15 and shutouts with seven. Nyzio made did not need to make a save in the win (7-8) as Franklin Pierce's defense did an outstanding job all afternoon, limiting St. Mike's to only three shots, with none on goal.
Junior forward Tia Levins (Manchester, Maine) also had a memorable day as her second-half goal tied the program record for most goals in a single-season (11). Her goal was one of 27 shots recorded on the afternoon by Franklin Pierce, as 19 of those went on goal.
The Ravens began the barrage of goals in the 17th minute when junior forward Danielle Dolan (West Brookfield, Mass.) stuffed in a shot, which came about from a scramble out in front of the net.
The offensive flurry continued just three minutes later when junior forward Lauren L'Heureux (Sanford, Maine) took a Levins' pass from the left wing and struck a shot that beat the SMC goalkeeper to the left post for a 2-0 Ravens' advantage.
Senior forward Ashley Moirano (Vero Beach, Fla.) then got into the scoring act for Franklin Pierce in the stanza's final minutes as she threw in a pair of goals to give the Ravens a 4-0 at the intermission. Moirano's first goal came in the 25th minute when she sniped a shot from the top-right of the circle. Her second goal came nine minutes later when she beat the Saint Michael's goalkeeper through the five-hole off a nifty feed from senior midfielder Kayla Simeone (North Kingstown, R.I.).
Fellow senior Jordan Baillargeon (Westfield, Mass.) joined the scoring party in the 50th minute when she scored from the left side of the circle off a penalty corner pass from Dolan.
Levins capped the scoring with her tally in the 58th minute as she scored off a scramble in front of the net following a nice pass from Moirano.
Moirano, Baillargeon and Simeone were joined by classmate Kaleigh Barbuzzi (Swampscott, Mass.), as the four were honored prior to the game on Franklin Pierce's 2010 Senior Day. The class of four has been a part of some of the most important accomplishments in recent program history. All four, as juniors, helped the Ravens finish the 2009 season with a 9-9 overall record, which was the program's first .500 record or better since 2003. And as mentioned earlier, this group helped lead the Ravens to a win on Saturday, which locked up a spot in the NE-10 championship, which will begin on Nov. 16 with the quarterfinals. Franklin Pierce's opponent and location of the game is still to be determined. It will be the second trip to the postseason for the senior class, which also earned a quarterfinal berth as sophomores in 2008.
Seeding for the upcoming conference playoffs are still to be determined and Franklin Pierce can helps it cause for a higher seed when the Ravens close out the 2010 regular season on Wednesday night when they play host to Southern Connecticut State at 6 p.m. in Sodexo Field.
For more information on Franklin Pierce field hockey, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).
