BOX SCORE BOX SCORE

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven women’s soccer program fell short of an upset on Friday night in their Northeast-10 opener against No. 16 Franklin Pierce University. The game was highly competitive throughout both halves but a Ravens goal at the 86th minute pulled them ahead to claim a 2-1 victory at Kayo Field.

The Chargers are now 1-1 overall and 0-1 in league play. Franklin Pierce has now improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northeast-10.

The game remained scoreless for the majority of the first half until a goal by Talita Pereira at 31:09 put the Ravens on the board first. Neither team managed to put one between the posts for the final 14 minutes as Franklin Pierce held a 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half was a similar story as both teams went up and down the field, just missing on opportunities. New Haven would remain composed and at 63:57, junior Lucy Francisco (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence ) rolled one in near the bottom right post to tie the game at one a piece.

The game seemed destined for overtime after a stellar performance by both squads. However, with minutes to go, Pereira put another one in the net as the Ravens took a one goal lead. The Chargers had a chance to tie the game with just seconds to go but narrowly missed on an opportunity as they fell short of upsetting the No. 16th ranked Franklin Pierce team.

Francisco and Nicole Pacapelli (West Haven, Conn./West Haven / Stonehill College) shot three goals each and Monica Yanez (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) and Shannon Morales (Bloomfield, Conn./Northwest Catholic) added two more. Yanez was credited with an assist and senior goalkeeper Kim Taylor recorded five saves.

New Haven is back in action on Sunday, September 11 as they travel to North Andover, Mass. for their first away contest of the season against Merrimack. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.