KEENE, N.H.  10/19/11 - The Keene State College women's soccer team saw its five game winning streak come to and end with a 3-1 loss to No. 8 ranked Amherst College at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.

Keene State falls to 11-6 while Amherst College (12-0) sets a school record for its longest winning streak.

The Owls, who upset the Lord Jeffs last season in Amherst with a 2-1 double-overtime victory, brought the play to Amherst in the early going and were rewarded for their hard work with the first goal of the game at the 18 minute mark.  Sophomore Jessica Berthiaume (Worcester, Mass.) sent a cross to a sliding Hayley Kenyon (Exeter, N.H.) who got just enough on the ball to get it past Lord Jeff senior goalie Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, Conn.) for her second goal of the season.

It was just the fifth goal given up by the Lord Jeffs this season. 

Amherst, the top ranked team in New England, answered with two quick goals 50 seconds apart to take a 2-1 halftime lead.  Carrying the ball down the left side through traffic, sophomore Sarah Duffy (Fairfield, Conn.) drove the ball from the top of the box into the far corner of the net to tie the game.  In the Lord Jeffs' next trip down the field, sophomore Chloe McKenzie (Upper Marlboro, Md.) got a head on a corner kick by freshman Ariana Twomey (Boxford, Mass.) to make it a 2-1 game.

Amherst dictated play the rest of the game, forcing Owl defenders on their heels.

A busy Megan Dempsey (East Weymouth, Mass.) kept it a one goal game, going airborne and getting a hand on a shot by Duffy ticketed for the top corner early in the second half. 

Junior Kathryn Nathan (Pembroke, Mass.) got the Lord Jeffs final goal on a shot from 35-yards out that eluded a diving Dempsey. 

"We came out hard and played with them, but there's only so much you can do.  They're a very talented team," said KSC Coach Denise Lyons.  "Player for player, we don't match up with them, but we gave it our all.  I'm really happy for my team. They never gave up and that's the sign of a really good team."

"We did very well tonight, considering we're going up against the eighth ranked team in the country," said sophomore back Kelsie Bailey (Barre, Vt.).  "Everyone played hard and that's all you can ask against a team like Amherst."

"We took a lot of hits, but we gave it right back.  I'm really proud of how we played," said senior back Erin Griffin (Londonderry, N.H.).  "We didn't get the result we wanted, but I think we played really hard.  That was one of our top performances.  If we can play like that every game, we can come out with a lot of wins."

Amherst outshot the Owls 20-8 and had a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks. 

Dempsey finished the game with seven saves.  Horwitz stopped three shots for the Lord Jeffs.

Both teams return to conference play on Saturday.  Keene State is at UMass-Dartmouth (1 p.m.) and Amherst host Wesleyan (12 p.m.)