'KEENE, N.H. 11/04/05 - Freshman forward Kathleen Keniston's (Minneapolis, MN.) goal 6:34 into the second overtime lifted third seed Keene State College to a dramatic 2-1 upset victory over second seed and fourth ranked in New England Western Connecticut State University in a semifinal Little East Conference women's soccer game played Friday afternoon at Willimantic, Conn.

Winners of five straight, Keene State (11-5-3) advances to the finals for the seventh straight year.  The defending champion Owls also won the title in 2002.  KSC will play top seed Eastern Conn. (11-5-2), which moved onto the championship after edging fourth seed   Southern Maine 2-1.  ECSU, which defeated the Owls in penalty kicks (5-3) for the 2003 championship, defeated KSC 1-0 in Keene earlier this season, prior to the Owls' winning streak. Saturday's title game at Eastern Conn. begins at noon. Western Conn. (14-2-2) had its seven game winning streak and 18-game unbeaten streak come to an end.  It was WCSU's first loss since its season opener to Wheaton (0-2).

The winning goal resulted from a strong individual effort by Keniston. "I got a through ball and ran past one of their defenders," said Keniston, who was inserted into the KSC line-up due to Renee Halsey's (Francestown, N.H.) injury.  "The goalie came out and I was able to slide the ball by her.

"The goalie screened me, so I didn't see it go in" added Keniston, who has three goals this season.  "I was shocked."

"I was filling out my list for penalty kicks," said KSC Coach Denise Lyons.  "It was a tough physical battle.  It could have gone either way."

The Owls scored the first goal on the game following a Colonial corner opportunity in the first half.  On a counter attack, Brittany Faulkner (Lebanon, N.H.) sent sweeper Sarah Miller in alone at the 13:49 mark.  Nicole Corbin tied the game for Western on a break away early in the second half.

KSC goalie Sarah Campbell (Auburn, Mass.) finished with three saves while WCSU goalie Ashley Griffin stopped four KSC shots.

Keene State, which defeated Plymouth State 1-0 in the first round, played its second double-overtime game in the tournament.  "We're tired, but we'll be ready to go tomorrow," said Keniston.  "Hopefully, we can win it in regulation."