The first ever Keene State soccer team to qualify for the NCAA tournament, the 1983 soccer team finished with a record of 14-2-3, scoring 58 goals while only giving up 14. The Owls had just joined the NCAA a year earlier after being a member of the NAIA since 1970.
Keene State was led by the offensive triumvirate of Chris Pangalos (12 goals, eight assists, 32 points), Mike Burdick (12-2-26) and Sean Kenny (5-9-19), while goalkeeper Keith Brown posted 10 shutouts, a mark that still stands as the fourth highest single season total in school history. Kenny and John McCully were both named All-Americans and chosen to play in the New England Intercollegiate Soccer League Senior All-Star Game that season.
A powerhouse from start to finish, the Owls opened the season with a 3-0 win over Dowling, followed by a tie against Davis and Elkins and a loss to Southern Connecticut. After wins over Southern Maine and Franklin Pierce, the Owls were handed a 2-0 setback by Plymouth State - the last defeat they would suffer for a long time. KSC got back on track with a 5-0 thumping of Castleton State, followed by a 1-1 draw with New Hampshire. KSC rattled off four straight wins, with victories over Southern New Hampshire, Gordon, Stonehill, and Bridgeport, before a scoreless tie with UMass Lowell.
That set the table for six more wins in a row, starting with a 6-1 win over Central Connecticut, as well as wins over Sacred Heart, Saint Michael's, Western New England, MCLA, and a 3-2, overtime win over Quinnipiac.
The Owls made their debut in the NCAA tournament, falling to the University of New Haven, 2-1, but were ranked in the top 10 in the final poll of the season. Since 1971, this was one of four teams in school history to finish with two losses or fewer, joining the Owl squads of 1981 (20-2-5), 1974 (17-2-2), 1973 (15-1-1), and 1971 (19-2).
