KEENE, N.H. 10/18/01 - Jason Lombardo's (Woburn, MA.) goal at the 32:15 mark of the first half stood up as the game-winner as Keene State College defeated Amherst College in a non-conference men's soccer game played Thursday at Owl Stadium Complex.

It was the seventh straight win for Keene State (12-3, 5-0 LEC). Ranked 21st nationally, Amherst College (5-4-2.) suffered it third straight defeat. Both teams came into the game tied for fourth in the New England regional poll.

Returning to the field after suffering a pulled muscle against R.I. College last Saturday, Lombardo took a pass from Matt Lam (Barre, MA.) out of the far right wing and drove the ball into the far corner of the net form 22-yards out. It was his team leading 11th goal of the season.

Controlling play at midfield, the Owls held off the Lord Jeff's until the closing minutes of play. Chris Kane (Marblehead, MA.) just went wide of the near post at the 5:02 mark, and a minute later Jeff Canrwell's (Randolph, NJ) shot just missed the far post.

KSC's Brandon Beck (Johnstown, NY) made four saves for his second shutout of the season. Bill Orum (Greenwich, CT) finished with eight saves for Amherst.

'It was a tremendous game,' said KSC Coach Ron Butcher. 'After three sub-par performances the guys came to play and they deserve all the credit.'

'Lombardo pulled the trigger that one time and fortunately we were able to hang on,' added Butcher, who also complimented the play of midfielders Luke Trill and Robby Carson. 'You also have to give Amherst a lot of credit, they were missing three key player and played a great game.

Keene State will now a wait a Saturday showdown (1 p.m.) with LEC co-leader UMA-Dartmouth (11-3, 5-0 LEC), which knocked KSC out of the Tournament last season.

'Home field for the Tournament will be up for grabs, so it's going to be a game for all the marbles,' Butcher said. 'Both teams come into the game with momentum. If we're healthy, and play the same way we did tonight I like our chances. But I think it's going to be a war.'