Salem, Mass.  10/20/10 - Senior April Rossetti (Saugus, MA) grabbed a loose ball in front of the net five minutes and eleven seconds into overtime as the Salem State Vikings came back to defeat the Keene State Owls 2-1 in an exciting Little East conference game at Alumni Field on Wednesday evening.

Rossetti notched her team-leading ninth goal of the season to help Salem State (6-7, 4-5) end an eleven-game losing streak against Keene State (11-5, 6-3) which dated back to the 2001 season.

The Owls grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period when junior Elizabeth Coffin (Sugar Hill, N.H.) scored on a penalty stroke at the 12:54 mark. It was the league-leading 20th goal of the season for Coffin. Keene State controlled play most of the first half taking nine shots compared to just one for the Vikings.

However, senior goalie Jess McKenna (Rowley, MA) limited the damage, making several key stops as she totaled six saves in the period.

Lauren Philbrick (Marlborough, MA) finally countered for Salem State early in the second half when she scored her first goal of the season at 39:31. The momentum clearly shifted to the home team which managed to out-shoot Keene State four to one in the second stanza.

Salem State twice earned an advantage in the second half as the Owls received two separate cards, but the KSC defense held strong in regulation, forcing overtime.

Meghan Ledoux (Standish, ME), who suffered the loss, made two saves for Keene State while McKenna finished with seven stops.

The Owls host Fitchburg State at 1:30on Saturday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.

(Courtesy Salem State Sports Information)