NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. 10/20/12 – Kyle Leavitt (Plymouth, Mass.) didn't waste any time giving his Keene State men's soccer team a 1-0 overtime win at UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday.  The senior midfielder broke a scoreless tie just 22 seconds into the extra period to give the Owls a key little East Conference victory. 

The winning goal came after the Owls stole the ball.   Junior Brian Swindell (Milford, Mass.) chased the ball down into the corner.  He played the ball to freshman Eddie Mercer (South Hadley, Mass) who found Leavitt coming through the middle.  Leavitt tipped it by UMD senior goalie Mike Phelan (Carver, Mass.) for the go ahead goal.  "It was a great goal," said KSC Coach Ron Butcher about Leavitt's second goal of the season.  "It wasn't a pretty game with a lot of fouls and a few cards, but we deserved to win the game because we were the better team. 

The victory assures the Owls (9-6-1, 4-1-1), now in third place, a spot in the four-team LEC tournament.  UMass-Dartmouth (11-4, 5-1 LEC) suffers its first conference loss and falls out of first place in the standings.

The matchup between two of the top teams in the LEC lived up to its hype as the Owls and Corsairs played a physical contest. Both teams traded scoring opportunities throughout the first and second half, but neither was able to capitalize in regulation time.  "We respect Keene State and we expected a hard fought, physical contest between the first and third place teams in the conference," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Henry Almeida. "It's unfortunate for us to play as well as we did and not get a win. We had opportunities; we just were not able to capitalize on them. It's tough after such a tight game to have them come right down after the opening whistle in overtime and score."

The Corsairs outshot the Owls, 12-8. Phelan (Carver, Mass.) and KSC junior goalkeeper Malcolm Cheney (Hopkinton, Mass.) each made five saves. It was Cheney's second shutout of the season and the fifth of his career.

Keene State will host Rensselaer on Wednesday (6:30 p.m.).