Jimmy McInnis collects three points, scores tying goal with 2:15 remaining

MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 14, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's lacrosse team scored two unanswered goals in the closing minutes Saturday night to pull off a huge come-from-behind 11-10 victory over No. 9 nationally ranked Saint Anselm at Grappone Stadium in Manchester, N.H. The victory evened the Ravens record at 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the Northeast-10, while the Hawks fell to 8-3 and 5-1 in league play.

The win over the Hawks was a historic one in Franklin Pierce program history, mainly for the fact that it marked the first triumph over a nationally-ranked opponent. However, the three conference wins are the most in a single season, while the five overall triumphs are tied for the most in program history (joining the 2010 team). It's the latest in a season that a Franklin Pierce men's lacrosse team sports a .500 record or better, and it's the first win over Saint Anselm in program history.

Both teams traded goals throughout the entire night, but it looked like Saint Anselm finally took the upper hand with 5:25 remaining when James Peters slammed in an unassisted tally to cap a four-goal surge and give the Hawks a 10-9 advantage.

The Ravens, though, didn't fold and head coach Rick Senatore used a pair of timeouts in the closing minutes to dial up his team's final game plan. The breaks in the action worked and senior attacker Jimmy McInnis (Amherst, N.H.) pulled the Ravens even with St. A's at 10-10 with 2:15 left when he beat Hawks goalie Jonathon O'Reilly with an unassisted marker.

Franklin Pierce carried the momentum from McInnis' goal and with only :21 remaining, sophomore midfielder Eddie Noonan (Foxboro, Mass.) struck with another unassisted tally to put the Ravens up 11-10. It didn't leave the Hawks with much time to respond and they couldn't get the equalizer as the Ravens closed out the program's biggest win ever.

McInnis, along with senior attacker Jack Corts, each logged a three-point evening with a pair of goals and an assist. Freshman attackman Kevin Dargin (Littleton, Mass.) broke out of his mini-slump with a stellar three-goal output on five shots taken.

Noonan logged a two-point evening as he assisted on another marker to go along with his winning tally. Two other Ravens posted a goal and helper on the night, including junior attackman Brendan Cahill (Hollis, N.H.) and sophomore middie Alex Connolly (West Newbury, Mass.).

Freshman goalie Don Denman (Exeter, N.H.) faced 21 shots and made 11 saves to tie the single season program record for wins by a goalie with five. He made four saves in the third quarter and three more in the fourth to keep the Ravens in the game and allow them the opportunity to pull off the victory.

The teams went goal for goal in the opening seven minutes of the game as the score was knotted at 2-all. Corts scored the first two tallies for the Ravens. 

After Peters knotted the score at 2-2 with his first tally of the game, the Ravens reeled off three-consecutive goals to close out the first quarter and take a 5-2 advantage. Connolly scored off a nice feed from Corts and Dargin threw in back-to-back tallies, including a man-up goal at the 6:04 mark.

Andrew Messner stemmed the tide for the Hawks in the opening minutes of the second quarter as he pumped in two-straight markers to bring Saint Anselm within a goal. It was Franklin Pierce's turn to regain the momentum and it did as freshman Cody MacLellan (Keene, N.H.) and McInnis sandwiched goals around a St. A's tally to give the Ravens a 7-5 lead at halftime.

The teams traded man-up goals to begin the second half, including one from Cahill off a nifty pass from Noonan at the 12:53 mark. Dargin capped his hat-trick with another goal with 5:29 left in the third to stake Franklin Pierce to a 9-6 lead.

The Hawks countered and bridged the final two quarters by scoring four-straight goals to take the 10-9 lead. Tyler Steinetz scored a pair during the surge, which was eventually capped by Peters' tally at the 5:25 mark.

Messner led Saint Anselm with three goals, while O'Reilly suffered the loss in net despite making eight saves.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday night when the Ravens play host to American International at 6 p.m. in Sodexo Field in Rindge. The contest will be Pierce Pride Night with free giveaways being handed out to the first 150 students.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men's lacrosse, 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/FranklinPierceRavens).