Franklin Pierce defeated by #6 Bentley, 2-0
Hannington ties her career high with eight saves to keep the Ravens close on Senior Day

RINDGE, N.H. (October 20, 2007) – Franklin Pierce University dropped a 2-0 match to Bentley College, ranked sixth in this week’s NFHCA Div. II National Coaches Poll, in a Northeast-10 Conference women’s field hockey match on Senior Day at Sodexho Field. The match marked the end of the 2007 regular season for both teams.

Senior Heather Buda (East Kingston, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) and sophomore Allison St. Jean (Lebanon, Maine/Noble) each scored for the visiting Falcons, one in each half, to lead the Falcons to the victory.

Buda began the scoring at the 22:25 mark of the first half, as she picked up the rebound of a Courtney Bartlett (Brunswick, Maine/St. Mark’s School) shot and found the back of the net. St. Jean doubled the lead less than five minutes into the second half, as she deflected a shot from teammate Christina Lowe (Tewksbury, Mass./Tewksbury) into the net.

The Falcons put pressure on the Ravens for most of the match, holding a 15-3 shot advantage, including a 7-0 edge in the second half, and taking 12 penalty corners to Franklin Pierce’s four.

Freshman goaltender Tevis Hannington (Canton, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) kept the Ravens in the match by tying a career high with eight saves, including a pair of sprawling dives across her goal line in the first half. Franklin Pierce also received defensive saves by junior co-captain Kayleigh Jaksina (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) and sophomore Samantha Newman (Belgrade, Maine/Messalonskee) as the Ravens attempted to stay close. For Bentley, Alyssa Sliney (Brewster, Mass./Nauset Regional) made two saves for her conference-leading ninth shutout of the season.

Before the match, the Ravens honored their three graduating players in a brief ceremony. Graduate student Mary Beth Huszar (Greenville, N.H./Mascenic Regional), senior co-captain Elizabeth Ellis (Turner, Maine/Leavitt) and senior Alison Daday (Brewster, N.Y/Brewster) were all four-year players for the Franklin Pierce field hockey program.

Franklin Pierce concludes its 2007 season with a 1-18 overall record and a 1-15 mark in Northeast-10 play. The Ravens finished the season with the second-highest offensive totals in school history, as their 32 goals and 23 assists rank only behind the 2000 squad. Bentley (13-5, 13-3 NE-10), which clinched the second seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament with the win, will play an NE-10 Tournament semifinal match on Oct. 27.

#6 Bentley 2, Franklin Pierce 0

Goals by period                    1  2  Tot

Bentley                                  1  1 -  2

Franklin Pierce                     0  0 -  0

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.  22:25 BEN Heather Buda (5) (Courtney Bartlett)

2.  39:52 BEN Allison St. Jean (4) (Christina Lowe)

Shots: Bentley 15, Franklin Pierce 3

Saves: Bentley 2 (Alyssa Sliney 2), Franklin Pierce 10 (Tevis Hannington 8; TEAM 2)