RINDGE, N.H. – The Assumption University men's lacrosse team fell to Franklin Pierce by a 10-9 score in overtime in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both schools on Saturday afternoon at Sodexo Field.

With the game tied at 9-all after junior Nolan Sheehan (Potomac, Md.) netted his career-high fifth goal of the afternoon at the 2:33 mark of the fourth quarter, sophomore Dylan Chapel (Griswold, Conn.) won the ensuing key faceoff to give the Greyhounds a key possession. Coming out of a timeout, freshman Cameron Theriault (Westfield, Mass.) got a good look in an effort to give Assumption the lead, but goalie Nathan Taylor made a crucial save, and the ball was successfully cleared.

After the shot clock ran out on the Ravens, the Greyhounds had one last chance with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation. Working from behind the net, Theriault tried to find a flying Ryan Bogar (Medfield, Mass.) for the game-winning marker, but the pass sailed high and sent the teams to overtime deadlocked at 9-9.

Sophomore Jackson Bulger (West Simsbury, Conn.) had an excellent chance to end the game on the Greyhounds' first offensive possession, but his shot attempt was blocked. Franklin Pierce then successfully cleared the ball and got the golden goal it needed with 2:08 remaining in the extra session. Nathaniel Girarden drove in on the left side, and as he was drawing attention, the junior found top scorer Stephen Ell for an uncontested shot that Greyhound sophomore Colin Malone (East Patchouge, N.Y.) couldn't stop to give the Ravens the sudden victory.

Franklin Pierce (4-0, NE10 1-0) outshot Assumption 10-5 overall, including 8-2 on net, in the opening quarter and kept the Greyhounds off the scoreboard. Even though the visitors were able to fight off a situation in which they played two men down for an entire minute, the Ravens got three goals from three different players to take a 3-0 advantage through 15 minutes of action.

Assumption, however, came back and was sparked by a rocket off the stick of Sheehan on its first man-up opportunity. Following what proved to be a key timeout taken by head coach Guy Bourdon, the Greyhound's shot off a pass from Bogar came at the 10:02 mark of the second, and classmate CJ Wiper (Sandwich, Mass.) drove in on his own to make it a one-possession game just 57 seconds later.

Sheehan then tied it at 3-3 midway through the frame by finishing a quick pass from Aidan Rodgers, who scooped up a ground ball off a wide shot by freshman Cameron Theriault (Westfield, Mass.) to keep an offensive possession alive. Sheehan and sophomore Brady McNulty (Tolland, Conn.) scored just 19 seconds apart in the final minute to give the Greyhounds a 5-3 advantage heading into the break.

The Ravens appeared to have cut the margin in half at the 12:26 mark of the third when Josh Dorr found Ell by making an extra pass rather than taking a shot himself, but the goal was waved off because Ell was in the crease. Elle, however, capitalized on a second-chance opportunity at 11:23 by finishing a shovel pass from Girardin and then again with 9:42 left to tie the match at 5-all.

In what continued to be a game of runs, Franklin Pierce then regained the lead when Caleb Ikkela found the back of the net with eight minutes remaining in the third. Dorr capped a 4-0 run with a tally at 5:12, and the Ravens carried a 7-6 advantage heading into the fourth.

The hosts' momentum continued into the fourth, as the Ravens' Ikkela completed a hat trick by sliding the ball past Malone and into the right corner of the net with 13:15 on the clock.

Assumption was able to cut the margin down to one when sophomore Teddy Willett knocked the ball away from Girardin in the backfield and started the offense, which resulted in freshman Jackson Bulger (West Simsbury, Conn.) converting on the other end at 10:38. Bulger also tied the game by scoring again at 6:36, but Elle, the Ravens' leading scorer, responded at 4:31 to push the hosts ahead. Despite the fact that Sheehan was able to tie the game for the fourth time, it wasn't enough, as Ell was able to provide the heroics in the four-minute overtime session.

Elle scored four goals to lead the way for Franklin Pierce, which outshot the Greyhounds by a 52-38 margin and finished with a 37-26 advantage in ground balls. Ikkela contributed three goals and an assist, and Robert Colburn concluded the match with five ground balls and two caused turnovers. Taylor made 14 saves.

Sheehan scored his career-high five goals on five shot attempts, and he also scooped up two ground balls to pace Assumption in the loss. Chapel won 12 of his 14 faceoff attempts and picked up five ground balls, while Willett caused three turnovers. Malone stopped 18 Raven shots between the pipes.

Assumption (1-3, NE10 0-1) will play three of its next four games at home and beginning when it hosts Saint Michael's on Saturday, March 26 at 3 p.m.