WORCESTER, Mass. 9/30/09 - Keene State sophomore Sia Karamourtopoulos (Freemont, NH) notched the game-winning goal in the 37th minute to help lift the Owls to a 1-0 victory this evening over Worcester State in non conference women's soccer action at Coughlin Stadium. The Owls, ranked ninth in the region, shutout the lancers for the first time this season.

"It was a real physical and aggressive game," said Coach Denise Lyons. "It wasn't pretty, but we stepped it up and got a good road win on turf."

The Owls found the back of the net when junior Katie Bradford (W. Lebanon, NH) made a good bid with a high kick on keeper Rachel Armenti (W. Boylston, MA) and just when Armenti was about to make a play on the ball in the air Karmoutopoulos came out of nowhere to head it in for her fifth marker and third game-winner of the season.

KSC's best chance to put another score on the board came in the 75th minute when Bradford took advantage of an open net with a shot that entered the mouth of the net, but senior Stephanie Demake (Auburn, MA) was right there to put just enough zip on the ball to knock it out of bounds.

Worcester State made two good attempts to try and equalize the score in the waning minutes of the game, but sophomore goalie Meghan Dempsey (Weymouth, MA) made stops on both opportunities.

Keene State ended with a 13-7 shot advantage (10-5 on goal) which included a 7-3 edge in the final period while the Lancers led in corners, 4-3. The game was also a physical one as both teams combined for 32 fouls.

Armenti registered nine saves while Dempsey tallied five stops for the Owls to pick up her third shutout of the season.

Both teams have conference opponents on Saturday. Worcester State travels to Framingham State for a 2 PM game while Keene entertains Rhode Island College at 1:30. 

(Courtesy Worcester State Sports Information)