KEENE, N.H. 4/27/10 – Led by seven-point efforts from sophomores Matt Shairer (Wrentham, Mass.) and Griffin Meehan (Simsbury, Conn.), the Keene State College men's lacrosse team clinched the regular season Little East Conference Championship with a 15-7 victory over in-state rival Plymouth State on Tuesday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.

The victory keeps KSC perfect in LEC play at 5-0 and 9-5 on the season, while the loss drops the Panthers to 3-3 in league play and 6-7 overall.

With his seven points, Meehan has 80 on the season, passing the previous season mark of Bob Bonnes set in 1999. The sophomore leads the NCAA in points per game (5.62).

The Owls jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, starting with local midfielder Ian Hart's (Richmond, N.H.) marker just under two minutes into the game.

After Brian Giroux's goal put the Panthers on the scoreboard, KSC rattled off four straight goals, capped by senior midfielder Easton Kezer's (Derry, N.H.) unassisted breakaway goal to make it 7-1 in favor of the home team.

Plymouth cut the lead to 7-3 on Steve Engel's man-up tally and Andrew Eriksen's unassisted score with 7:16 remaining in the first half.

The Owls again scored four straight goals to close out the period, led by Meehan's goal and two assists for an 11-3 lead at the half.

Keene State again outscored the Panthers in the third period with Shairer and Meehan each netted multiple markers. Ty Long's goal from Brett Zabrowski was the lone PSU goal of the quarter.

In the fourth, Plymouth shutout the Owls, and scored three times with Giroux and Eriksen each earning multiple points in the period. But the Owls would hold off the Panther attack and come away with a 15-7 victory.

Schairer netted a career-high six goals and dished out an assist for his seven points, while Meehan netted three goals and had four helpers on the day. Junior midfielder Ryan Shairs (Beverly, Mass.) and freshman midfielder Jonathan Rodrick (Plaistow, N.H.) were the only other Owls to earn multiple points for KSC.

Giroux and Eriksen each had three points to lead the way for the Plymouth.

Keene State freshman goaltender Jasson Lesser (Brewster, N.Y.) played the first-half in the victory allowing just three goals and making three saves. Junior Alec Corliss (Waltham, Mass.) played very well in the second half for the Owls, allowing just four goals and making 12 saves. Panthers net minder Kevin Hayes made nine saves and allowed 15 goals in the losing effort.

The Owls return to action Saturday, May 1st, as they will celebrate senior day with their final regular season LEC game against Southern Maine at 3:30 p.m. Plymouth State will close out their season against UMass-Boston on Saturday at 1 p.m.