DARTMOUTH, Mass. 4/24/10 – The Keene State College women's lacrosse team defeated UMass-Dartmouth 17-8 in LEC action on Saturday, for their school-record ninth consecutive victory. Junior attack Jill Kirk (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) led a balanced scoring attack with three goals and four assists to improve the Owls record to 11-3 overall and 4-0 in league action, while the Corsairs fell to 4-5 and 1-2.

The Owls, who started their win streak back on March 31^st with a 16-15 victory over Division II Franklin Pierce University, broke the 2009 squad's record of eight straight wins.

“The consecutive win streak is nice and shows we are becoming a more consistent team, but it' also adds more pressure,” said KSC Coach Katie Arsenault.  “We still have to take it one game at a time and get ready for Plymouth on Tuesday.”

The Owls scored six goals in the game's first ten minutes and took an 11-0 lead into the halftime intermission.  KSC's dominant advantage came on the strength of a four-headed offensive attack.  Junior midfielder Jamie Albert (Southington, Conn.), sophomore midfielder Caitlyn Corace (Mahopac, N.Y.), and junior attackers Kirk and Lauren Sawyer (Westbrook, Maine) all tallied two goals and two assists apiece in the opening thirty minutes. 

UMass-Dartmouth outscored the Owls 8-6 in the second half, after being shutout in the first. Midfielder Allison Trearchis and attack Gillian Carey each netted two goals in the second-half, with Trearchis adding an assist for a team-high three points.

But it was KSC's day as Both Albert and Kirk scored a single goal in the second half, to tie each other with a game-high three goals, as the Owls ran away with a 17-8 victory.

Freshman midfielder Lauren Brown (Agawam, Mass.) also netted two goals in the victory, with both tallies coming in the second-half. Junior Jenny Lillis (West Islip, N.Y.) rounded out the multiple goal scorers for KSC with a goal in each half and an assist.

In net for the Owls sophomore goaltender Alyssa Marinaccio (Narragansett, R.I.) played the first 32:56 making five saves and allowing just one goal in the win. Freshman Christine Collins (Cheshire, Conn.) played the final 27:04 making four saves and allowing seven goals.

Corsair goalie Liz Miller made four saves in the first half before yielding at halftime. In the second half, freshman net minder Angelina Donovan made four stops and allowed six goals.

The Owls return to action on Tuesday, as they will head to Plymouth State for a 4 p.m. start. KSC will return home on Saturday, May 1st to play their final regular-season game of the year against Southern Maine.