KEENE, N.H. 10/29/11- The Keene State College men's soccer team netted six first half goals, rolling to a 6-1 Little East Conference victory over Western Conn. State University before a  chilly Senior Day crowd at Owl Athletic Complex on Saturday.  With the win, the Owls (10-7-1, 5-2 LEC) secure the second seed in the upcoming LEC tournament and will host third seed R.I. College in a semifinal game on Wednesday (6 p.m.).

"We came out with a purpose today," said KSC Coach Ron Butcher.  "Everybody did their job. Now it gets a little tougher, but the good news is the game is here." 

The Owls blitz the Colonials, scoring three goals in the first 5:50 of the game.  Junior Joe Senecal (Manchaug, Mass.) finished off a crossing ball from senior Cam Blair (Keene, N.H.), just two minutes into the game to put KSC on the board.  Taking a lead pass from junior Kyle Leavitt, (Plymouth, Mass.), sophomore Scott Douglas (East Greenwich, R.I.) dribbled around WCSU sophomore goalie Jack Holub (Sherman, Conn.) and deposited the ball into the open net for his team leading 11th goal of the season two minutes later.  Set up in front by Senecal, sophomore Bryce Lawlor (Woodbury, Conn.) completed the early uprising, going top shelf with his second goal of the season.

Keene State continued its first half assault later in the half.  Leavitt found Blair alone at the corner post to extend the Owls' lead to 4-0 at the 19:17 mark.  "I've been having a tough time getting into the box all season," said Blair. "But Kyle played a perfect ball, so I ran front post and put it in the net."

Four minutes later, Leavitt was taken down in the box, and senior Kevin Gomes (Halifax, Mass.) scored on a penalty kick to make it 5-0.  "I wasn't really expecting to take it.  I guess the guys wanted me to score on senior day," said Gomes, who also scored on a penalty shot earlier this season against R.I. College.

Freshman Michael Jacques (Tolland, Conn.) competed the first half scoring with his third goal of the season.

Colonial junior Max Schneider (New Milford, Conn.) spoiled Keene State's shutout bid with a second half goal.

Keene State outshot Western Conn. 16-2 in the first half and finished the game with a 20-8 advantage.

Both teams split the goaltending chores in the game.  For KSC, sophomore Malcolm Cheney (Hopkinton, Mass.) played the first half and made one save, before giving way to senior Paul Blackmer (Boylston, Mass.), who stopped three shots in the second half.  Holub started for Western Conn. (1-14-2, 0-6-1 LEC) and made six first half saves.  Junior Angelo Tsingerliotis (Norwalk, Conn.) took over in the second half and wasn't credited with a save.

 "This team has come full circle, 'said Butcher.  "At the start of the year, we were hit hard by injuries. But some of the guys have stepped up, and put us in a position to defend our Little East championship."

Prior to the game, KSC honored senior Eric Martens (Sharon, N.H.), Blackmer, Gomes, and Blair.