BOSTON, MASS. 9/17/11 – Freshman Pat Anthony's (Southampton, Mass.) first college goal was the difference as the Keene State men's soccer team opened up Little East Conference play with a 1-0 victory over UMass-Boston at the Clark Athletic Center on Saturday.

The goal which skipped across the ground from about 20 yards out, took a last second hop that caught UMass Boston goalkeeper Brycen Dowd (Mansfield, MA) by surprise.  The ball managed to get through Dowd's hands to give the Owls the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of the match.  "I just shot it and I was lucky that the goalie couldn't hold on to it," said Anthony.  I'll take it." 

The Owls, who continue to struggling trying to find the back of the net, improve to 2-3-1, (1-0 LEC).  UMass-Boston (4-1-0, 0-1 LEC) suffered its first loss of the season.

In what became an extremely physical contest, the two squads battled back and forth for all 90 minutes.  Each team had some great opportunities which barely missed their targets.  Dowd and his Keene State counterpart sophomore Malcolm Cheney (Hopkinton, Mass.) were each tested heavily, especially in the second half. Cheney made a couple of key stops in the second half to preserve the Owls' win.

"It's a start and something to build on," said KSC Coach Ron Butcher.

Cheney totaled nine saves to earn his second win and second shutout of the year. Dowd finished the game with three saves. 

The Beacons went on to finish the match with a combined 18 shots, nine of which were on goal.  Keene State, which entered Saturday's game coming off one of the worse losses in the program's history –7-0 loss at Western New England – totaled 15 shots on the day, four on goal. 

Both teams totaled nine corner kicks each in the match.  For the Beacons, Victor Hugo Costa (Malden, MA), and Kelvin Martinez (East Boston, MA) led the team in shots on goal with two each.  Scott Douglas and Cam Blair each managed three shots to lead the Owls offense.

Keene State hosts Worcester State on Wednesday (6:30 p.m.)