Merrimack Tops Franklin Pierce, 18-6
Rogowski totals game-high seven points in Warrior victory

RINDGE, N.H. (April 18, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce men’s lacrosse team suffered a tough 18-6 setback to Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference action this evening at Sodexho Field. The Warriors used a six goal second period to roll to their fifth victory of the season.

            Sophomore Greg Rogowski (Cohoes, N.Y./Christian Brothers) led the Merrimack offense with a game-high seven points on six goals and one assist. Junior Chris Elia (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) paced the Warrior attack with six points, including a game-high four assists and two goals scored, while senior Andy Teeling (Baltimore, Md./St. Mary’s) added three points on one goal and two assists.

            Senior Nick Cowden (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) was solid for Franklin Pierce, totaling a team-high two goals for two points, while sophomore Kyle Kruse (Bourne, Mass./Bourne) and classmate Jason Flanigan (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) chipped in with one goal and one assist each.

            Merrimack opened the scoring at the 8:05 mark of the first period on Rogowski’s first goal of the game, but Franklin Pierce fired back with scores by junior Luke Ferreira (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) and sophomore Ryan Boller (New Cannan, Conn./New Cannan) to gain a 2-1 lead. The Warriors responded just 0:43 later as Rogowski netted his second goal of the game to knot the score at 2-2 heading into the second period.

In the second period, Merrimack exploded for six unanswered goals to take a commanding 8-2 lead. Rogowski lead the Warrior charge with two goals scored, while Elia chipped in with two assists.

            Merrimack increased its lead to eight during the third period, outscoring Franklin Pierce 4-2. The Warriors rallied off four unanswered goals to start the period on scores by Rogowski, Elia and freshman Bryan MacPhie (Scarboro, Maine/Scarboro) but the Ravens closed the period with back-to-back scores by Kruse and Cowden to keep within striking distance.

            In the final period, Franklin Pierce came out firing with two quick scores by Cowden and Flanigan, cutting the Merrimack lead to 12-6, but the Warriors connected for six unanswered goals to close out the period and preserve the victory.

Merrimack out-shot Franklin Pierce 35 to 29 in the contest. Senior Ben Lek (Gaithersburg, Md./Col. Zadok Magruder) stopped five shots in net for the Ravens, while junior Eric Tompkins (Newington, Conn./Newington) collected seven saves for the Warriors.

Franklin Pierce (3-8, 0-7 NE-10) will be in action again on Sunday as it hosts Saint Anselm College at 2 p.m. Merrimack (5-4, 5-2 NE-10) will travel to Saint Michael’s College on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Merrimack 18, Franklin Pierce 6

Merrimack Scoring:
Goals: Greg Rogowski (6); Chris Elia (2); Jo Pisano (2); Andy Teeling (1); Dennis Rugg (1); Bryan MacPhie (1); Sean Garvey (1); Reid Eichelberger (1); Timothy Roy (1); Sean Foley (1); Justin Zakher (1);
Assists: Elia (4); Teeling (2); Kyle Beaudoin (1); Dave Dawley (1); Garvey (1); Paul Hagerty (1); MacPhie (1); Rogowski (1); Rugg (1);

Franklin Pierce Scoring:
Goals: Nick Cowden (2); Ryan Boller (1); Jason Flanigan (1); Luke Ferreira (1); Kyle Kruse (1);
Assists: Patrick Colburn (1); Flanigan (1); Kruse (1); Brendan Rooney (1); Michael Willis (1);

Goaltending:
MER: Eric Tompkins (45:34), seven saves; Peter Vitale (14:26), two saves;
FPC: Ben Lek (45:34), five saves; Ryan Hulse (14:26), two saves;

 GAME STATISTICS AND BOX SCORE