KEENE, N.H. 4/19/08 - Eastern Connecticut State University edged host Keene State College 13-12 in a battle between the two top teams in the Little East Conference at Owl Athletic Complex on Saturday.

            KSC (9-5, 3-1 LEC), looking for its school record seventh straight victory, suffers its first LEC loss of the season.  ECSU maintains its hold on first place in the conference.

            The Warriors, the defending LEC champs, jumped out to an early 4-1 lead before the Owls netted three straight goals to tie the score.  The teams traded goals the rest of the half with Owl senior attack Lanaya Nelson (Chester, Conn.) scoring with 4:22 to go to put KSC up 7-6 at the break.

            The lead continued to change hands in the second half until ECSU string together three straight goals to take a 13-10 lead on an unassisted tally by senior midfielder Lily Anderson (Portland, Me.) with 6:09 to play.

            The Owls rallied with a pair of unassisted goals by freshman attack Jamie Albert (Southington, Conn.).  Following Alberts' second goal with 42 seconds to play, Anderson won the draw control and the Warriors were able to maintain possession the rest of the game.

            Despite the loss, KSC Coach Michelle Mason was pleased with her team's performance.  "We're still relying on our new players and they played awesome, but they've never been in this situation before," she said.  "If we had another minute, we would have been all set."

            Freshmen Jill Kirk (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) and Albert led the Owls with three goals each.  Lauren Sawyer (Westbrook, Me.) and Jenny Lillis (West Islip, N.Y.) finished with two goals and Nelson and Michelle Mazzotta (Cromwell, Conn.) each scored a goal.

            Anderson topped the Warriors with five goals.  Sophomore Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, Mass.), junior Natalie Sims (Carle Place, N.Y.),  senior Megan Gloster (Agawam, Mass.) scored twice and junior Sara Barrett (Bourne, Mass.) and sophomore Brooke Wayte (Bellport, N.Y.) added single goals.

            KSC junior goalie Jen Gearing (Westfield, Mass.) made 11 saves.  Junior goalie Joslin Wells stopped 15 shots for the Warriors.

            Keene State hosts Castleton State on Tuesday (6:30 p.m.).  Eastern Conn. hosts Bridgewater State on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.).