KEENE, N.H. 3/5/11 – The Keene State women's lacrosse team erupted for eight unanswered goals in the second half, en route to a season-opening 15-5 non-conference win over St. Michael's College at Owl Athletic Complex on Saturday. 

            Seniors Jamie Albert (Southington, Conn.) and Lauren Sawyer (Westbrook, Maine) and sophomore Nicole Curry (Hampstead, N.H.) each scored three goals for the Owls.  Making her first start in goal, freshman Erin Taylor (Brewster, N.Y.) finished the game with eight saves.

            "I thought we played smart offensively in the second half," said KSC Coach Katie Arsenault. "We didn't throw the ball away and took better shots. Defensively we figured out what they were doing.  It was a good start."

            Junior Eliza Scoba (Franklin, Mass.) had two goals and three assists and junior goalie Sandy Palumbo (Guilford, Conn.) turned aside 16 shots for the Purple Knights.

            Albert broke in front of the net and scored to give Keene State an early 4-0 lead. St. Michael's answered with the next three goals. Scoba fed sophomore Kait Newdorf (Auburn, N.H.) from behind the net to cut the Owls lead to 4-3.  Albert scored on a free position shot with 49 seconds to go to give Keene State a 7-5 halftime lead.

            Keene State took over in the second half, netting four goals in a span of five minutes to go up 11-5.  Junior Samantha Benson (Hampstead, N.H.), Sawyer, Albert and Curry all found the back of the net during the uprising.  

            "We regrouped at halftime and came out strong," said Albert.  We wanted to begin the season on a good note."

            Meanwhile the Owl's defense was shutting down the Purple Knights, who were held scoreless and limited to four shots in the second half.  "We did a better job reading their offense in the second half," said junior Amanda Keeley (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.).  "We made some adjustments at halftime and were able to stop them."

            After a shaky start, Taylor settled down in goal for the Owls.   "I was a little nervous in the beginning, but I felt more comfortable and played better as the game progressed," she said. 

            Freshman Ashley Borjeson (Londonderry, N.H.) and sophomore Lauren Brown (Agawam, Mass.) each scored two goals for Keene State.

            Newdorf had two of the Purple Knights five goals.

            KSC outshot SMC 38-18 and had a 29-13 advantage in ground balls.

            Keene State is at MIT on Thursday (5 p.m.).  St. Michael's is at Stonehill College on Tuesday (4 p.m.).