KEENE, N.H. 11/14/09 - Second-seeded Keene State College advanced to the championship game of the ECAC Division III New England Women's soccer tournament with a 4-0 semifinal shutout victory over third seed University of New England on a soggy Owl Athletic Complex field on Saturday.

Keene State (16-6-2) scored two goals in each half to advance to the tournament finals for the first time 2007 when they lost to Brandeis 2-0.  The Owls, who won the ECAC title in 2005 with a 2-1 victory against Clark, will be facing Brandeis again in Saturday's final at Waltham, Mass. (12 p.m.).  The top seeded Judges, who are looking for their third straight ECAC crown, moved on with a 4-3 victory over fourth seed Mass. College of Liberal Arts in a semifinal game decided on penalty kicks.  

The University of New England, which defeated Keene State 2-1(OT) in last year's semifinals, finishes its season at 15-4.

Juniors Nora Mahoney (Belchertown, Mass.) and Katie Bradford (Lebanon, N.H.), sophomore Sia Karamourtopoulos(Fremont, N.H.), and freshman Joan Hamel (Weare, N.H.) netted goals for the Owls.   

Missing three starters, KSC Coach Denise Lyons says she was pleased with her team's effort.  "I think for the conditions we played well.  It could've gone either way, but we played hard and got the job done."

"We're 90 minutes away from winning the championship. Hopefully, we can bring it home tomorrow," Lyons said.

"It's frustrating to have games like this where the rain and wet field play such a big role," said Mahoney.  "Last year we played them in similar conditions and lost, so it was nice to come out on top this time."

Weather was a factor from the start as both teams attempted to navigate their way around the numerous puddles on the field. UNE had the first quality shot 15 minutes into the game. Sophomore forward Maggie Mahoney (Newburyport, Mass.) walked in alone, but her shot slid just wide of the far post.

Nora Mahoney gave the Owls a 1-0 lead at the 16:51 mark, scoring on a counter attack following a Nor'easter corner.  Taking a cross from sophomore back Kim Kasprak (Sutton, Mass.), Mahoney went around UNE senior goalie Leigh Engel (Richmondville, N.Y.) and put the ball into the open net.

Hamel made it a 2-0 game at the 34:10 mark.  Taking a touch pass from Bradford, Hamel dribbled in and buried the ball into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season.

The Owls added two more goals in the second half.  Three minutes into the period, Bradford scored her team leading 18th goals of the season with a shot from the top of the box.  Following a UNE turnover Bradford found a wide open Sia Karamourtopoulos (Fremont, N.H.) for KSC's final goal.

Keene State, which outshot UNE 13-8 and had a 4-1 advantage in corners, weathered the Nor'easters the rest of the way for its 12th shutout of the season.

Sophomore Megan Dempsey (East Weymouth, Mass.) made five saves to notch her eighth shutout of the season.  Engel started in goal for UNE and made three saves.  Sophomore Jess Woodworth (Concord, N.H.) saw 14 minutes of action early in the second half and didn't record a save.