'KEENE, N.H. 11/2/06 - The second seeded Keene State men's
soccer team advanced to the finals of the Little East Conference
tournament championship game with a 3-1 victory over third seed
Rhode Island College in a semifinal game played at Owl Athletic
Complex on Thursday.
Jeremy Kelsey (Gilford, N.H.). Alex Horne (Harvard, Mass.) and
Scott Cluff (Kingston, Mass.) netted goals for the Owls who will
making their sixth trip to the finals. KSC won the
championship in 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2004.
"We played well enough to advance," said KSC Coach Ron
Butcher. "The guys stepped it up and did what they had to
do."
KSC will face rival Plymouth State in the title on Saturday (12
p.m.) in Plymouth. The top seeded Panthers edged fourth seed
UMass-Boston 2-1 in a semifinal game decided by penalty
kicks. Felix Rosen tied the game with 2:21 to play in
regulation. PSC outscored UMB 4-2 in penalty kicks.
Keene State has met the Panthers twice in the finals. The
Owls prevailed both times, in 1999 (1-0, OT) and in 2001 (5-0).
After missing several scoring opportunities, the Owls finally
cashed in at the 19:33 mark. Cluff found an uncovered Kelsey
streaking down the right side. The junior midfielder buried a shot
into the far corner for his fifth goal of the season.
Alex Horne (Harvard, Mass.) gave KSC a two goal lead at the
35:26 mark when he settled a ball on the right side and fired a
left-footed bullet past RIC goalie Jadon Neves (Warren, R.I.) for
his team-leading 10th goal of the year.
"We haven't played up to our potential all season," said
Horne. "When you play in what possibly could be your last
game, you go out with all you got likes there's no tomorrow."
Cluff gave the Owls a 3-0 lead early in the second half when he
finished off a cross from Pelse Mesa (Manchester, N.H.). "We knew
we had to get this game," said Cluff. "Everyone wanted to
come out and play their hearts out for the seniors."
Cal Mintz had four saves to notch his four shutout of the season
for the Owls (13-5-1). Neves stopped five shots for RIC
(12-7).
