ORLANDO, FLA.  3/16/11 – Junior Matt Schairer 's (Wrentham, Mass.) goal at the 2:16 mark of overtime lifted the Keene State College men's lacrosse team to a thrilling 10-9 win over Geneseo State in a battle of nationally ranked programs in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday. 

The winning goal came on a feed from sophomore Taylor Jette (Simsbury, Conn.).  "Schairer came off the crease and Jette hit him with a perfect pass," said KSC Coach Mark Theriault, describing the game-winner.

Keene State, which came into the game ranked 28th, remains undefeated (3-0) while Geneseo, tied for 18th in the most recent USILA poll, falls to 2-2.

"It's a great win," said Theriault. "I think it shows that Keene State is an upcoming program in the region and nationally.  Last year, we lost 17-10 to them, so it shows we're moving in the right direction."

The Owls overcame a 6-3 halftime deficit.  "We made some changes and adjustments at halftime and outscored them 3-0 in the third quarter," said Theriault. "The fourth quarter was just a battle."

Jette, freshman Kyle Bennett (Concord, N.H.) and sophomore Ian Hart (Richmond, N.H.) scored third quarter goals to tie the game at 6-all.

The teams traded goals in the frantic fourth quarter.  Goals by juniors Griffin Meehan (Simsbury, Conn.) and Matt Crimmins (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) put the Owls up 9-8 with 3:33 to play.  A goal by the Blue Knight's Brendan Kurpis with 54 seconds to play sent the game into overtime.

That set the game for Schairer's game-winning goal.

Theriault said the win wouldn't have been possible with the work of the Owls defense.  "They did a phenomenal job," he said.  "Every time we needed a stop they rose to the occasion."

Schairer scored with three goals while Jette finished with two goals and four assists.  Meehan had two goals and Hart, Bennett and Crimmins also found the back of the net for KSC. 

Bobby King had two goals for Geneseo.

Sophomore Jason Lesser turned in another strong performance in goal, finishing with 16 saves.  Ryan Zaremba stopped 10 shots for Geneseo.

Keene State continues its Florida trip with a game against 29th ranked Springfield College on Saturday (2 p.m.).