Pace Tops Franklin Pierce, 13-4
Gregory leads Setters with a game-high five points in victory

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (March 31, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce men’s lacrosse team suffered a tough 13-4 setback to Pace University in Northeast-10 Conference action this afternoon. The Setters used a 7-1 advantage after the first half to earn their fifth victory of the season.

            Junior Ryan Gregory (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) led the Pace University attack with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists. Freshman James Hammel (North Caldwell, N.J./West Essex) was also solid, totaling a team-high four goals, while sophomore T.J. Urban (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) collected four points on one goal and three assists. Senior Rob Cornetta (Huntington Station, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) added three points on two goals and one assist.

Freshman Brendan Rooney (Newton, Mass./Newton) and junior Luke Ferreira (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) split the scoring duties for Franklin Pierce, totaling two goals apiece.

Pace opened the scoring just 3:01 into the first quarter as Cornetta ignited a four goal scoring rally with his first score of the game. Hammel followed with a score just two minutes later, while Gregory added back-to-back goals at the 8:01 mark to complete the rally. Franklin Pierce broke the scoring silence with 4:25 remaining in the quarter on Rooney’s sixth goal of the season.

In the second period, Pace out-scored Franklin Pierce 3-0 to take a 7-1 advantage into the half. Hammel accounted for all three Setter goals, while Gregory and T.J. Urban collected one assist each.

Pace increased its lead in the third period on goals by Gregory, sophomore Dan Abberton (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) and freshman Frank Argento (Lawrence, N.Y./Lawrence). Abberton opened the scoring for the Setters just 1:45 into the period before Gregory followed with his third goal of the match at the 8:13 mark. Rooney tallied his second goal of the match for Franklin Pierce with 4:47 remaining in the frame, but Argento responded with a goal late in the period to give the Setters a 10-2 advantage.

Franklin Pierce opened the final period with two consecutive goals by Ferreira, but Pace rallied off three unanswered goals to preserve the victory.  Sophomore goaltender Timothy Matheis (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) registered six saves in the win for the Setters, while senior goaltender Ben Lek (Gaithersburg, Md./Col Zadok Magruder) made 18 saves for the Ravens.

            Franklin Pierce (1-4, 0-3 NE-10) will be in action again on Monday as it hosts Norwalk College at 4 p.m. Pace University (5-2, 2-2 NE-10) will travel to Assumption College on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Pace 13, Franklin Pierce 4

Pace Scoring:
Goals: James Hammel (4); Ryan Gregory (3); Robert Cornetta (2); T.J. Urban (1); Dan Abberton (1); Frank Argento (1); Joseph Roskop (1); 
Assists: Urban (3); Gregory (2); Abberton (1); Cornetta (1);

Franklin Pierce Scoring:
Goals: Brendan Rooney (2); Luke Ferreira (2);
Assists: none 

Goaltending:
PAC: Timothy Matheis (36:47), four saves; Thomas Duca (16:22), two saves; Andrew Williams (6:51), six saves.
FPC: Ben Lek (60:00), 18 saves.

 GAME STATISTICS AND BOX SCORE