Box Score

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Trailing by a goal at halftime, the No. 8 nationally ranked Southern Connecticut State University field hockey team scored four goals in the second half to pull away with a 6-3 win over Franklin Pierce on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the Owls advance to the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. They will now face No. 2 seeded (and No. 6 nationally ranked) Bentley on Saturday afternoon at UMass-Lowell.

The Owls moved to 13-8 overall with the victory. Franklin Pierce concluded its season at 7-13 with the loss.

After a relatively quiet first 22 minutes, Franklin Pierce scored twice in a span of 4:44 to take an early 2-0 lead.

The Owls responded with two goals in just 64 seconds to even the game at 2-2. Sara Winterbottom (Burlington, Conn.) got the hosts on the board with a rebound goal that came with 2:59 left in the opening half. Then, Ann Berry (Belfast, Maine) tied the score with a nifty goal that came off a crossing pass from Lauren Karn (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).

However, the Ravens went back in front on a goal by Ashley Abernethy just as the first half expired that made it 3-2 Franklin Pierce at the break.

Southern Connecticut came out firing to start the second half and tied the score just 1:09 in when Molly Daniels (Canton, Conn.) scored on a penalty corner off an assist from Berry.

Then, less than two minutes later, Kelly Anne McCafferty (Durham, N.H.) got just enough on a bid from in close, as her shot barely trickled over the goal line. Grace Martha (Cheshire, Conn.) assisted on the score.

The Owls stretched their lead to 5-3 with 17:11 remaining when Jennifer Sousa (Hartford, Conn.) connected on a rebound goal.

Winterbottom closed the scoring with her second goal of the day, a tally that came with just over three minutes remaining.

Owls' goalie Lauren Zarrella (Morris, Conn.) finished with seven saves in the victory.