Box Score

Franklin Pierce scored two goals two minutes apart in the first half and held firm as it defeated UMass Lowell, 2-1, Tuesday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference women's soccer match at Sodexho Field.

The loss was the third straight for UMass Lowell, which slipped to 4-8-2 overall and 3-8-1 in the Conference entering Saturday's home clash against New Haven (3:00).

Franklin Pierce improved to 8-5-2 overall and 7-5-1 in the Conference.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the 10^th minute when junior F Talita Pereira took a pass from sophomore M Caroline Savasta and chipped over junior GK Jill Carlson (Lexington, Mass.).

The Ravens took a 2-0 lead in the 12^th when graduate M Aya Noguchi possessed off a failed clearance and fired into the top right corner of the goal.

UMass Lowell battled back in the second half and kept Franklin Pierce freshman GK Katie Weldon on edge in the opening minutes. The River Hawks' persistence cut the lead in half in the 50^th minute, when freshman M Selja Snorradottir (Reykjavik, Iceland) crossed to sophomore F Emily Bracken (Bridgewater, Mass.), who headed home her first collegiate goal to cut the lead in half.

“We competed better and deserved more from the game,” said head coach Elie Monteiro. “Franklin Pierce was more clinical around the goal and that was the difference.”

UMass Lowell outshot Franklin Pierce, 16-8 overall (6-6 on target), including 8-2 in the second half, and didn't allow the Ravens a shot in the latter half until the 79^th minute.

Carlson had four saves for the River Hawks while Weldon stopped five shots for Franklin Pierce.