KEENE, N.H., 03/5/08 - The Keene State women's lacrosse team dropped its home season opener 18-8 to Endicott College at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.

Senior Lanaya Nelson (Chester, Conn.) and freshman Jill Kirk (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) scored two goals each for the Owls. Freshmen Lauren Sawyer (Westbrook, Me.), Jamie Albert (Southington, Conn.) and Emily Persano (Somers, Conn.), and senior Michelle Mazzotta (Cromwell, Conn.) netted single goals.

Junior Alex Pearce (Underhill, Vt.) led the Gulls with five goals and two assists. , Sophomore Kristen Micho (Syracuse, N.Y.) had three goals and junior Molly Moss (Yarmouth, Me.) finished with two goals and two assists for the two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champs.

Playing on a field surrounded by snow banks, the Gulls scored the first three goals of the game on the way to building a 10-3 halftime lead.

A goal by Kirk on a nice feed from Andrea Mitchell (Bow, N.H.) cut the lead to 12-6 at the 13:55 mark of the second half, but Pierce scored three quick goals in span of two minutes to make it a 15-6 game.

KSC Coach Michelle Mason said it was difficult playing with a short-handed line and 10 new players on her roster. "We played hard, but there's going to be an adjustment period when you have so many new players" she said. "I thought we played better in the second half and that will give us something to build on for the next game."

Junior Molly Hamel (North Yarmouth, Me.) stopped eight shots for Endicott. Junior Jenn Gearing (Westfield, Mass.) made 12 saves for KSC before giving way to freshman Meghan Ledoux (Standish, Me), who was credited with one save over the final nine minutes.

Keene State is at Mount Holyoke next Tuesday (4:30 p.m.) Endicott host MIT on Saturday (1 p.m.).