#11 Franklin Pierce Blanks 
Bryant, 3-0
Ravens take over first place in NE-10 
behind five-point effort from Hislop

RINDGE, N.H. (October 6, 2004) – Franklin Pierce, which slipped to No. 11 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, moved into sole possession of first place in the Northeast-10 Conference with a 3-0 victory over Bryant University in NE-10 women’s soccer action this afternoon.

            Junior All-American Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) played a role in all three Franklin Pierce goals with two goals and an assist. Classmate Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) chipped in with a goal.

            Hislop opened the scoring in the 12^th minute, when she perfectly timed a long ball from the back by sophomore Mia Makarainen (Espoo, Finland) and broke in one-on-one with Bryant senior goalkeeper Kim Rekart (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) and fired a shot into the left corner of the net.            

Hislop doubled the Ravens advantage at 37-minutes even when she slid in and poked a cross from senior All-American Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) past Rekart.

            Bryant had an excellent bid to pull a goal back just three minutes into the second half, but a header by senior Christine Kalukiewicz (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) just cleared the cross bar. The Bulldogs had another chance in the 59^th minute as junior Nikki Grandmaison (East Hampstead, N.H./Central Catholic) fired a shot that caromed off the post and sophomore Casey Grange (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic) blasted the rebound over the bar.

            Franklin Pierce put the match away at 59:44 as Hislop connected with Hughes with a cross from the left side that Hughes one-timed into the net.

            Freshman goalkeeper Jenna Mello (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) finished the match with one first-half save to preserve her third shutout of the season. Rekart made two stops in just over 66-minutes of action, while freshman Christina Baker (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) made two saves over the final 24 minutes.

            Franklin Pierce (9-1, 7-1 NE-10) is off until next Thursday, October 14, when it hosts the University of Massachusetts Lowell in its first home match on Sodexho Field at 3:30 p.m. Bryant (9-2-2, 6-1-2 NE-10) hosts Le Moyne College on Monday at 10 a.m.

MATCH STATISTICS