Talita Pereira scores a goal for the third-straight match
RINDGE, N.H. (October 16, 2012) – The Franklin
Pierce University women's soccer team won its second-straight
match on Tuesday as the Ravens scored a pair of first-half goals
and hung on for a 2-1 win over UMass-Lowell at Sodexo Field in
Rindge. The Ravens improved to 8-5-2 overall and 7-5-1 in the
Northeast-10, while the River Hawks fell to 4-8-2 and 3-8-1 in
league play.
Franklin Pierce got a pair of
first-half goals from junior forward Talita Pereira (Sao
Paulo, Brazil) and graduate midfielder Aya Noguchi
(Tokyo, Japan). The Ravens were outshot, 8-6, in the
opening 45 minutes, but they managed to put all six attempts on
goal.
Pereira got the scoring started in
the 10th minute when she took a high lob pass from
sophomore midfielder Caroline Savasta (Salem,
Mass.) at the top of the box, dribbled once and chipped a
shot over the oncoming UMass-Lowell goalkeeper Jill Carlson.
It was Pereira's eighth goal
of the season and marked the third-consecutive match she logged at
least one marker. Savasta earned an assist on the play to give her
10 points on the season.
Noguchi scored just two minutes
later for Franklin Pierce as she jumped all over a failed clearing
attempt by a UMass-Lowell defender and deposited a quick strike
into the upper right corner of the net for a 2-0 lead. It was
Noguchi's fourth of the season, which established a new
career-high for her for tallies in a single season, besting the old
mark of three she had as a junior in 2010.
UMass-Lowell, though, didn't
go quietly and took the pace of play to the Ravens in the second
half. The River Hawks outshot Franklin Pierce, 16-8, for the match,
including an 8-2 edge in the second half.
The hard work finally paid off for
Lowell five minutes into the second half when Emily Bracken headed
in an entry pass from Selja Snorradottir to cut the Franklin Pierce
lead in half at 2-1.
The River Hawks continued to pepper
Franklin Pierce freshman goalkeeper Katie Weldon
(Manchester, N.H.) with multiple shots in the final stages
of the match, but she held strong and made five saves overall to
earn her second-straight win and run her record to 2-2-1 on the
season.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
on Saturday when the Ravens play host to Pace at 2 p.m. in Sodexo
Field.
For more information on Franklin
Pierce women's soccer, please visit the team's page at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the programs even
further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports),
Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics)
and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens).
Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's soccer
apparel can do so at the athletic department's brand new
online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
