KEENE, N.H.  11/7/10 – Sophomore Joe Senecal's (Manchaug, Mass.) goal with 1:37 to play in regulation play lifted top seed Keene State College to a 1-0 victory over third seed Rhode Island College in the championship game of the Little East Conference men's soccer tournament at Owl Athletic Complex on Sunday afternoon.

Collecting a lead pass from senior midfielder Luke Sisco (Pine Plains, N.Y.), Senecal flicked the ball over the head of RIC junior goalie Nic Clark (East Bridgewater, Mass.) for the game-winning goal.

"Coach has been telling me to put the ball over the top the whole game," said Sisco. "Finally I decided to do it in the 88th minute and luckily it was a ball Joey could finish."

"Luke gave me a great ball," said Senecal, who was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.  "I was able to get a foot on it and put it over their keeper.  We didn't have many shots, but we got the one that counted."

Nursing an injury, Senecal came off the bench to score the go-ahead goal. "We knew we were going to get 10 minutes a half from him," said KSC Coach Ron Butcher.   "We had to make sure we put him in at the right time."

The victory gives Keene State (14-4-2) its sixth Little East Tournament title and its first crown since 2006.  Rhode Island College, which won the LEC championship in 2008, goes to 10-7-2.  The Owls will find out about their NCAA tournament opponent later tonight. KSC will bring a six game winning streak into the NCAAs.

The Owls won the championship the hard way, having to replay their semifinal game against UMass-Dartmouth after the Corsairs protested a goal in their first meeting. "Playing three 90 minute games in five days really takes a toll on you," said Sisco. "This week has been super emotional and been a real test of our togetherness as a team."

"Everybody said you can't do it, but people don't' understand this team," said Butcher.  "We may be short in some places or lacking a little bit of talent, but we never stop running.  And they believed in themselves.  We could see before the game that they were going to persevere." 

Both teams had a quality scoring opportunity in a scoreless first half.  Sophomore back Kyle Leavitt (Plymouth, Mass.) sent a ball into the box that senior midfielder Brian Holmes (Sharon, Mass.), just missed getting a foot on at the side of the RIC net.

With 4:45 to play in the half, KSC junior goalie Paul Blackmer (Boylston, Mass.) was just able to get a hand on a close-range shot by senior midfielder Joe Ruiz (Providence, R.I.).

The Anchormen had several chances to get the go-ahead goal in the second half, but the ball was bouncing the Owls' way.  Junior forward Mike Patriarca (Warren, R.I.) had a couple of shots at the corner of the Owls' net. The first hit off the post and the second hit the side of the net.

Later in the half, Ruiz had a drive that hit off the crossbar.

With KSC unable to clear the ball following a corner, Patriarca headed the ball off the bar with 12:10 to play.

"It's a championship game and these guys will capitalize on any chances that you give them, so we did a good job of putting pressure on the ball and not giving them opportunities around the net," said sophomore back Blake Nyman (Plymouth, Mass.).

Rhode Island College outshot the Owls 9-7 and had a 6-3 advantage in corner opportunities.

Blackmer finished the game with two saves to pick-up his fourth shutout of the season.

Clark stopped five shots for RIC.

"We have a couple of main goals to win the LECs and move on to the NCAAs and we're going to see where we go from there," said Nyman. "We've had a couple of real emotional days, but we'll be ready for the tournament."