'KEENE, N.H.  11/9/05 - Katie Stevens (Londonderry, N.H.) and Missy Mengual (East Berlin, Conn.) scored second half goals to lead fourth seed Keene State College to a 2-0 shutout win over fifth seed Western New England College in a first-round game of the ECAC Division III New England Women's Soccer Tournament played at Sumner Joyce Field on Wednesday. 

Keene State (12-6-3) will host top seed Simmons College (15-3-1) in a semifinal game on Saturday (1 p.m.). Simmons edged eighth seed St. Joseph's of Conn. (1-0) in its opening round game.  In other ECAC action, second seed Southern Maine was upset by seventh seed Brandeis in a 0-0 game that was decided by penalty kicks (5-4). Third seed Clark University will host sixth seed Wentworth later this evening.

After a scoreless first half, Stevens gave KSC a 1-0 lead at the 69:56 mark of the second half.  Taking a crossing pass from Courtney Gately (Canton, Mass.), Stevens fired the ball into the far corner of the net for her seventh goal of the season.

"I saw Courtney coming down the wing ," said Stevens.  "They had one defender back and I got in front of her and was able to score.  It was a great ball."

The Owls scored their second goal on a similar play nine minutes later.  Receiving a corner kick by Sarah Miller (Walpole, N.H.) in the box, Mengual settled the ball before putting it into the far corner for her second goal of the season.

The Owls had several chances to score in the first half. WNEC goalie Marissa Sullivan (Halesite, N.Y.) made a diving save on a shot by Tara Wagner (Avon, Conn.) minutes into the game and Brittany Faulkner's (Lebanon, N.H.) shot was deflected over the cross bar.  In the second half Wagner hit the cross bar and Ally Beadle (East Hartford, Conn.) had a drive that hit the post before the Owls got on the board.

KSC goalie Sarah Campbell (Auburn, Mass.) had five saves to notch her fifth shutout of the season. Sullivan finished with six saves for the Golden Bears who conclude their season with an 11-7-4 mark.  The Owls defeated WNEC 6-0 in their season-opener.

 "It's going to be nice to host a semifinal game, "said KSC Coach Denise Lyons.  "Home field is key in a tournament like this."

Depending upon the condition of the field, KSC is hoping to return to Owl Athletic Complex for Saturday's game.  "It would be nice for the seniors to end their careers on our game field where they started," Lyons said.

KSC, which is making its sixth appearance in the ECAC Div. III Tournament, has never won the championship. WNEC was making its second trip to the Tournament. In 1998, the Golden Bears capped a 20-2 season by defeating Western Conn. (3-0) for the ECAC Metro Tournament title.  WNEC Coach Ron Dias is a 1968 KSC grad.