Ravens close out 2014 at 8-10

Video of Senior Day ceremony
Photo gallery of Senior Day ceremony 

RINDGE, N.H. (November 15, 2014) – The Franklin Pierce University field hockey team honored its four-player senior class prior to the start of Saturday afternoon's game, celebrating the careers of forwards Courtney Kelly (Plymouth, N.H.) and Tori Gamache (Goffstown, N.H.), co-captain midfielder Brittany Lepore (Barnstable, Mass.) and back Adria Liseno (Somersworth, N.H.). Unfortunately for the Ravens, junior forward Mary Plotas spoiled the Senior Day festivities, as she scored three goals to lead No. 7 nationally ranked Adelphi to a 5-0 victory in Northeast-10 Conference play at Sodexo Field.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 8-10 (5-6 Northeast-10), while Adelphi improves to 13-5 (8-3 Northeast-10). The loss eliminated Franklin Pierce from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season.

Plotas got the only goal Adelphi would need in the 12th minute on Saturday afternoon, as she struck for her team-leading 21st of the season. The initial shot on the play was turned aside and Plotas put away the rebound from five yards in front of the cage. The Panthers pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 24th minute, on another unassisted tally, as junior midfielder Olivia Nowokunski notched her ninth goal of the campaign by finishing from the left post.

Adelphi controlled the run of play throughout the first half, as it amassed advantages of 5-1 in penalty corners, 10-1 in shot attempts and 7-0 in shots on goal. The Franklin Pierce offense would show life in the second half, but was unable to solve Adelphi junior goalkeeper Kelly Serrao on the afternoon.

The Panthers put home three more goals in the second half to create the 5-0 final. First, just 27 seconds into the stanza, they struck on a quick rush into the offensive end. With the ball on the left side, junior forward Kristen Bagley sent a pass off to her right, where senior forward Carly Aceves put away her second of the season at the right post.

Plotas had the final two markers, as she scored in the 52nd and 57th minutes to notch her fifth hat trick of the season, as well as her third in the last four games. In the 52nd, the Panthers sent the ball to junior midfielder Molly Cuevas at the top of the circle on a corner play. Cuevas dished it off to the right for Plotas, who drove her shot from there. The shot deflected off traffic in front and wound up in the back of the cage. In the 57th, Nowokunski drove the ball towards the goal from well outside the circle on the left side. Plotas was in the middle of the circle and deflected it en route to cap the day's scoring.

Freshman goalkeeper Meaghan Williams (Salem, N.H.) made seven saves and suffered the loss (8-10) in goal for Franklin Pierce, while Liseno added her fourth defensive save of the season in her collegiate finale. Serrao finished with four saves to notch the win (10-4) and her fourth shutout of the season for Adelphi. Senior midfielder Briana Rubenstein and sophomore forward Rachel Colvin picked up defensive saves in the second half for the Panthers.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce field hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).