Giardina tallies her second goal of her career

EASTON, Mass. (September 27, 2017) – The Stonehill College women's soccer team came from behind to score three goals for a 3-1 victory over Northeast-10 Conference foe Franklin Pierce University Wednesday afternoon on Skyhawk Field.

Stonehill's (4-5-0, 2-3-0 NE10) Meredith Moore (Salem, Connecticut/East Lyme), Alex Giardina (Middletown, Connecticut/Middletown), and Nicole Garfield (Manchester, Connecticut/East Catholic) tallied the goals, as Nicole Geraghty (Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham Regional) recorded the lone assist for Garfield's goal.

Franklin Pierce (4-2-1, 3-2-1 NE10) saw Evaline Rodrigues register her first goal of the season, as Gabriella Braga recorded the helper.

The Ravens put pressure on the Skyhawks early in the game as they got off two shots in the second minute of the game. Stonehill's goalkeeper Kaitlin Brown (Walpole, Massachusetts/Walpole) was able to make a stop on the second shot by Nalina Valaydon. For nine minutes, neither team was able to record a shot or corner kick, until Franklin Pierce fouled and Stonehill kept the ball in their attacking third to launch a corner kick and get a shot blocked by Garfield in the 12^th minute.

In the 32^nd minute of the game, Gabi Pereira struck the ball for the Ravens second corner kick of the game and Braga dribbled the ball from the far post to find Rodrigues who capitalized on the pass for a 1-0 lead in the first half.

Stonehill continued fighting, as Franklin Pierce was called for another foul in the 38^th minute inside the 18-yard box, setting up the Skyhawks for a penalty kick. Moore struck the ball and got it past the goalkeeper for her second successful penalty shot in her career, tying the game a one, 1-1. Franklin Pierce held the shot advantage at the end of the first half, eight to 2.

The Skyhawks took possession of the ball in the 58^th minute, as Giardina stopped the Ravens' defender from taking the ball out of Stonehill's attacking third and dribbled up to the goalkeeper making her dive for the ball leaving the freshman with an open net. Giardina recorded her second goal of the season for a one-goal lead for the Skyhawks, 2-1.

Franklin Pierce tried to fight back with back-to-back shots from Pereira in the 60^th minute, but Stonehill rallied for one more score in the 69^th minute. Inside the 18-yard box, Geraghty, from the right, crossed the ball to Garfield who ripped the ball into the net just tipping the keepers' gloves and finding the upper 90 corner for a 3-1 lead.

As Stonehill tried keeping possession of the ball for the remaining minutes, Franklin Pierce was only able to record two corner kicks and two shots, for a combined total of 12 shots to the Skyhawks' five.

The Skyhawks travel to Larkin Field in Manchester, New Hampshire to face No. 21 Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, September 30 with a start time of 4:00 p.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.