KEENE, N.H., 4/22/08 - Keene State College outscored Colby College 3-2 in the fourth quarter to win a hard-fought 11-10 non-conference men's lacrosse victory over the Mules at Owl Athletic Complex on Tuesday afternoon.

            Keene State (8-2) snapped a two game losing streak with the win. Colby College (6-7) has dropped four straight.

            "This is a good win for us, especially after last week when we had the hiccup of the season going 0-2," said KSC Coach Mark Theriault.  "It's nice to get a solid win against one of the NESCAC schools and prove we are a really good team." A win like this is a confidence builder for the guys."

            "We wanted to pick up a win against a quality opponent and NESCAC team,' said junior midfielder Casey Brodersen, who was successful in winning 15 of 23 face-offs.  We know we can play better than what we've shown of late."  

            Trailing 9-8 early in the final quarter, KSC scored three consecutive goals to take am 11-9 lead.  Junior attack Tony Santa Fe (Derry, N.H.) finished off a nice crease pass from freshman midfielder Michael Arrujo (Southborough, Mass.) to tie the score.  Intercepting an errant clear at midfield, junior defensive midfielder Easton Kezer (Derry, N.H.) raced down the field and beat Colby junior goalie Alex Farmer (Madison, Conn.) with a low hard shot to give KSC a 10-9 lead.  Minutes later, junior attack Alex Loscialpo (Westport, Mass.) added a key insurance goal that would be the difference in the game. 

            The Owls defense then went to work surviving a two-man down situation with 10 minutes to play.  Owl senior goalie Matt Johnson (Derry, N.H.), who stopped 17 shots in the game, also made two huge saves to keep the Mules off the board, stopping a close range shot by Mark Squicciarino with 1:43 to play and stuffing Drew Piekarski with 54 seconds left on the clock.

            "I just tried to focus on the ball and make the save," said Johnson.  "We needed this win today after the two loses. We're looking to go the rest of the way without a loss."

            Piekarski had made it an 11-10 game with 1:24 to play. After maintaining possession, KSC gave Colby back the ball with 24 seconds to play. But the Mules were unable to get a shot on goal.

            The two teams traded goals throughout the physical game that featured 10 penalties.  KSC went up 2-1 after the first quarter before relinquishing the lead 5-4 at the break.

            Santa Fe and senior midfielder Ryan Hazelton (Chester, N.H.) finished the game with three goals and two assists each.   KSC also got goals from Peter Lauranzano (Beverly, Mass.), Brodersen (Derry, N.H.), and Jamie Lesage (Exeter, N.H.).

            Whit McCarthy led the Mules with four goals. Farmer finished the game with 10 saves.

            Keene State hosts Southern Maine on Saturday (1 p.m.).