RINDGE, N.H. (3/29/23) - The Franklin Pierce women's lacrosse fell behind early on against non-conference opponent Molloy University on Wednesday afternoon in route to an 18-6 loss at Sodexo Field.

 The loss is the sixth straight for Pierce, who drops to 1-7 (0-4 NE10) overall on the season. The Lions improve to 8-3 (2-0 ECC) overall following the win.

The game got off to a fast start for Molloy, who climbed ahead to a 10-4 lead over the first 15-minutes of the contest. Junior Olivia Delonais (North Andover, Mass.) opened the scoring at 12:28 for the Ravens, and would later add a second goal of the quarter following a free-position strike by fellow junior Kayli Hoefs (Amsterdam, N.Y.) just 00:29 apart. To close out the opening frame, Delonais would also add a helper onto a goal by sophomore Haley Hermsdorf (Center Moriches, N.Y.) with 2:10 remaining. Molloy's Megan Rugolo and Amanda Weber would each score first quarter hat tricks, while Alexa Amorison registered two goals of her own.

In the second half, Pierce stepped up its play defensively and tried to match the intensity that the Ducks brought. However, the Lions continued to find ways to score and eventually broke through for five more goals, expanding their lead to 13-5. Throughout the full second half, the Ravens would only see one goal scored, which would come from senior Gabrielle Oswald (Nedrow, N.Y.) at the midway point of the third frame. Molloy would add two more in the fourth to complete the 18-6 effort.

Pierce goalkeeper Erin Blake (Southborough, Mass.) made 14 saves on 32 shots in the loss, while Molloy's Mary-Kate Sweeney stopped three-of-nine for her seventh victory of the season.

Women's lacrosse opens a three-game road trip this Saturday, April 1^st when they will pay a visit to Southern Connecticut State (6-3, 1-3 NE10) for a 1:00 p.m. start at Jess Dow Field.