WILLIMANTIC, Conn. 10/04/08-- The Keene State College
women's soccer team dropped its first Little East Conference game
of the season with a 2-1 set back to Eastern Conn. State on
Saturday.
Senior Nicole Gaudette knocked in a corner kick to give Eastern
(6-2-0, 2-0-0 little east) a lead in the 14th minute of
play, and after sophomore Katie Bradford (Lebanon,
NH) tied the match seven minutes into the second half with her
conference-leading 12th goal - eight more than her
nearest competitor -- Meghan Ryczek
converted the game-winning goal with 13 minutes left in regulation
on an eight-yard blast just beyond the dive of Keene freshman
keeper Megan Dempsey (Weymouth, MA).
The win is the third straight and sixth in seven meetings
for Eastern over Keene State (9-3-0, 2-1-0 little east), which had
an overall four-game winning streak snapped. Eastern remains
undefeated at home with its fourth win in as many contests.
The top defensive team in the conference, No. 7
regionally-ranked Eastern did not allow the No. 1-ranked offense to
take a shot until just five minutes remained in the first half.
That shot from the middle of the box by Keene sophomore
Jana Berthiaume (Worcester, MA) was right at
Eastern junior keeper Kim Church (Farmington) and was one of only
two saves made by Church in the match.
The goal by Bradford, last year's LEC Rookie-of-the-Year,
was her only one on net, although she just missed giving the Owls a
2-1 lead 13 minutes after tying the match when her drive from the
right wing rolled just wide of the far post.
Dempsey made only one save for Keene, but it was a big one as
she batted down a point blank shot by Eastern junior Taylor
MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA) that was cleared away by freshman
Bridget Hennessey (Essex Junction, VT) and kept
the Owls from falling behind by two goals. Minutes earlier,
Hennessey had come off the bench to clear a shot by Eastern junior
Sarah Swann (Oxford) off the goal line following an Eastern corner
kick.
Keene State returns home to host Westfield State on Wednesday
(6:30 p.m.).
(Courtesy ECSU Sports Information)
