KEENE, N.H.. 11/4/01 - Tournament MVP Jason Lombardo (Woburn, MA.) had three goals to lead the Keene State College men's soccer team to a 5-0 victory over rival Plymouth State in the Little East Conference Tournament Championship Game played Sunday in Keene.

It was second LEC Championship for KSC, who also won the title in 1999. The top seeded Owls (18-3), who extended their winning streak to 13 games, earn the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Second seed Plymouth State (11-6) will await a possible berth in the ECAC Tournament.

KSC Ron Butcher was surprised by the outcome. "I expected a much tougher game. I never dreamed it would end that way," he said. "But the guys came ready to play and did what we asked of them."

Keene State built a 2-0 half time lead on goals by Lombardo and Jimmy Hogan (Holderness, NH). Lombardo scored on a rebound following a corner kick and Hogan's goal was a header from a direct kick by Robby Carson (Goffstown, NH). After Lombardo put the Owls up 3-0 with his second goal 58 second into the second half, KSC goalie D.J. Nordmark (So. Windsor, CT) made one of his two saves in the game, a diving stop of a penalty kick from Panther Justin Wengall (Newington, CT). It was Nordmark's eighth shutout of the season. Scott Laine (Spencer, MA.) finished with six saves for PSC.

The Owls added two more goals later in the half. Casey Banks (Westborough, MA.) notched his 12th of the season and Lombardo completed the scoring with his hattrick and team-leading 17th goal of the season.

"We played them before, so we knew what to expect, said Lombardo. "And my teammates gave me some great balls to put away."

Keene State will now move on to the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Wednesday. The Owls have qualified for the Championship four out of the past five years.