KEENE, N.H.  10/8/08 - Westfield State scored two early goals and hung on for its seventh straight win, a 2-0 shutout victory over Keene State, in non-conference women's soccer action at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.  

Sophomore forwards Jill Ranney (Southwick, Mass.) and Meg Gearin (Groton, Mass.) netted goals for WSC (8-3).  Keene State drops to 9-4.

 Gearin had a pair of golden scoring opportunities for Westfield in the opening minutes. Her first drive hit off the crossbar and her second attempt on a break in went just wide of the post.

Westfield wouldn't be denied scoring two goals in a span of 1:05.  Taking a lead pass from senior forward Jenn Leveille (Southampton, Mass.), Ranney drove the ball into the net from the right side to give WSC a 1-0 lead at the 15:37 mark. A minute later Gearin put in her own rebound to stake Westfield to a 2-0 lead.

 The KSC Owls, who had a 16-8 shot advantage, had the better of play in the second half, but many of their attempts were either wide of the net or right at WSC freshman goalie Jess Pieciak (Three Rivers, Mass.).  Their best chance came when sophomore midfielder Nora Mahoney (Belchertown, Mass.) plunked the ball off the cross bar with 17 minutes to play.

KSC junior goalie Samantha Hirsh (Holliston, Mass.), who took over for starter freshman Megan Dempsey (Weymouth, Mass.) early in the game, kept it a two goal deficit when she robbed Leveille with 11 minutes to go.

Dempsey had three saves and Hirsh stopped four shots for KSC.  Pieciak made eight saves to post her third shutout of the season.

It was Westfield's first win over Keene State since 1982. The series between the two teams resumed in 1997.

Both teams return to conference play on Saturday, Keene State is at R.I. College and Westfield State is at Fitchburg State.