#9 Franklin Pierce Rallies 
Past Merrimack, 3-2
Hislop’s second-half brace saves Ravens
for first regular season win over Warriors 
in three seasons  

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (September 28, 2005) – Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 9 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, rallied from a very early two-goal deficit for a 3-2 victory over Merrimack College, ranked fifth in the New England Region, in a key Northeast-10 Conference women’s soccer match at Warrior Field tonight.

            Senior All-American Laura Hislop’s (Belfast, Northern Ireland) second-half double completed the comeback for Franklin Pierce who found itself two goals down just 3:20 into the match. Hislop netted the winner with just 51-seconds to play after equalizing the match 8:05 into the second half.            

The win marked the Ravens fourth comeback win of the season and third straight. Merrimack struck just 59-seconds into the match when senior Lindsay Sheffield (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) took a pass from junior Laura Asbell (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) and scored on a high shot from 15-yards out. The goal was the second in as many matches yielded by Franklin Pierce in the opening minute of a match. Stonehill struck just 11-seconds into last Wednesday’s 3-1 Raven win at Sodexho Field.

            Merrimack’s lead was doubled at 3:20 when freshman Caitlin Hall (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont) headed in a cross from senior Hilary Caccamo (Milton, Mass./Milton), putting Franklin Pierce two goals down for the second time this season.

            Unlike the Assumption match, which Franklin Pierce trailed 2-0 after a half, the Ravens cut the deficit before the break when freshman Rebecca Westbury (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) netted her first collegiate goal off a corner kick from senior All-American Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) at 24:29.            

Hislop equalized in the 54^th minute, off a feed from sophomore Taryn Welker (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga), with a low drive into the right corner. Hughes set up Hislop’s winner, another low blast to the right corner, to give the Ravens their first regular season win over the Warriors since 2002.

            Sophomore Shannon Rowan (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) and junior Caitlin Stephan (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin) split the goalkeeping duties for Merrimack. Rowan stopped five shots, yielding just a goal, in the first half, while Stephan made three saves and allowed two markers in the second half. Sophomore Jenna Mello (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) finished with one save for Franklin Pierce, which out-shot the hosts, 20-12.

            Franklin Pierce (7-1-1, 5-1-1 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it visits rival Southern New Hampshire University at 7 p.m. Merrimack (6-3, 3-3 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm College on Saturday at 3 p.m.

MATCH STATISTICS