KEENE.N.H. 10/6/12 – Keene State College battled #24 ranked and undefeated Eastern Conn. State to a 1-1 double-overtime tie in a key Little East Conference men's soccer game played at Owl Athletic Complex on Saturday.

            Keene State (6-5-1, 2-1-1 LEC) had lost its last three games.  Eastern Conn. (10-0-1, 3-0-1 LEC) suffered its first non-victory of the season.

            KSC Coach Ron Butcher was pleased with his teams' effort.  "We can't play much better than we did.  "We looked like a MASH unit on the sideline and when you can't play your regular guys its hard.  But you couldn't ask for a bigger effort.  If we can play like this every game we'll be very successful."  

            "Coach Butcher told us that quite a few guys came of age today," said senior captain Blake Nyman (Plymouth, Mass.). "Everyone gave 100-percent effort and that's all we ask for."

            Both goals came within a five-minute span early in the first half.  A marked man all game, junior Scott Douglas (East Greenwich) netted the Owls goal at the 30:14 mark.  "Nick Godzyk (Wilmington, Mass.) did all the work.  He beat two guys on the wing and crossed the ball. I was lucky enough to give us a lead," said Douglas about his fourth goal of the season.  "It was a team effort. We put a lot into this game."

            Senior Cory Tobler (Portland, Conn.) tied the game for ECSU five minutes later.  KSC junior goalie Malcolm Cheney (Hopkinton, Mass.) made the initial stop on a shot by senior Matt Furman (Montville, Conn.).  Tobler pounced on the rebound and slipped the ball into the open net.

            Both team had scoring opportunities in regulation play.  Near the end of the first half, Senior Ian Ferguson (Millwood, N.Y.) bodied off Furman long enough to prevent a breakaway and allow Cheney to come up and get the ball.

            Early in the second half, Douglas and senior Kyle Leavitt (Plymouth, Mass.) combined on a give-and-go.  Douglas' shot went just over the cross-bar. 

            With 11:20 to play in regulation, Douglas ripped off a shot that hit the inside of the post and bounced out. 

            The Warriors had a golden opportunity to win the game with 2:40 to play in the second overtime.  A wide open Furman had a shot that went just wide of the KSC net.

            "It was a physical game," said Nyman. "We always know when we play against a team like Eastern Conn. we have to body them off the ball.   "The back four played real well today." 

            Eastern Conn. outshot the Owls 20-13 and had a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks. 

            Cheney finished the game with seven saves for KSC.  Senior Eric Munsell (Waterford, Conn.) stopped two shots for the Warriors.

            The game was a rematch of last year's LEC final, won by the Warriors (1-0) on a penalty kick.

            Keene State host Gordon College on Tuesday (6:30 p.m.).  Eastern Conn. returns home for a game against Wesleyan on Wednesday (4 p.m.).