NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA 10/9/10 – The Keene State College men's soccer team battled host UMass-Dartmouth to a 1-1 tie in Little East Conference action at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Saturday.                                                                                   

The Owls opened the scoring early in the game. Less than three minutes into the first half, senior forward Cam Blair (Keene, N.H.) fired an unassisted goal past Corsairs goalkeeper Kellen Rauch (Ashland, Mass.), giving Keene State a 1-0 advantage. Blair's goal, his fifth of the season, was the lone goal of a back-and-forth first half battle.

The Corsairs evened the score with 22:29 left in regulation. Senior forward Giuliano Basile (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) blasted a shot past Owls goalkeeper Paul Blackmer (Boylston, Mass.) forcing an overtime periods between both squads.

UMass Dartmouth had the best scoring opportunity of the overtime periods. Early in the first overtime, freshmen defender Alex Machado (New Bedford, Mass.) fired a long shot on goal, the ball squandered away from Blackmer and onto the foot of sophomore forward Anthony dos Santos (New Bedford, Mass.) but dos Santos shot attempt sailed wide right of the goal.

Later in the overtime, KSC sophomore Joe Senecal (Manchaug, Mass.) and freshman Scott Douglas broke in.  Instead of passing, Senecal took a shot that Rauch was able to save.

 "We were still beaten with injuries from the game against Salem State and no better today," said KSC Coach Ron Butcher.   It was a very even game.  They're a very technical team and we struggle a bit with all their ball skills."

The Corsairs outshot the Owls 15-14 in the contest. Rauch made seven saves for UMD, while Blackmer tallied four for Keene State.

The Owls are 8-3-2 and 3-0-1 with the tie while UMass Dartmouth goes to 6-2-2 and 2-1-1 in the LEC.  Keene State will host RPI on Wednesday (6:30 p.m.).