KEENE, N.H. 3/21/12 – Eight different players found the back of the net, and Bowdoin College goaltender Chris Williamson (Winnetka, Illinois) made 12 saves, as the Polar Bears defeated the Keene State College men's lacrosse team 10-7 at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

The Owls drop to 1-4 on the season, while the Polar Bears, who came into today's contest ranked No. 15 in the nation, improve to 3-1 early on in the season.

Leading the way for KSC, senior attack Matt Crimmins (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) scored four goals to pace the Owls offensively. Senior captain Matt Schairer (Wrentham, Mass.) dished out three assists, while junior JT Galloway (Simsbury, Conn.) had two assists of his own in the losing effort.

Defensively junior Tommy Todd (Billerica, Mass.) caused four turnovers and scooped up four groundballs, while KSC goalie Jason Leser (Brewster, N.Y.) made 13 saves and picked up seven ground balls of his own.

Patrick Lawlor (Hanover, Mass.) finished with two goals and an assist for the Polar Bears, while sophomore Franklin Reis (Hampton Falls, N.H.) was the only other Bowdoin player with multiple goals, scoring tallies in the second and fourth quarter.

Bowdoin won the battle of the face-offs, with Brendan Hughes (Marblehead, Mass.) winning 12-of-20 opportunities and scooping up 15 groundballs. KSC senior David Shaw (Acton, Mass.) won eight-of-20 on the flipside for the Owls.

The Polar Bears defense shut-out the Owls offensively in the first half, while Bowdoin put up a half-dozen on the scoreboard.

Keene State had their best opportunity of the first half, when junior attack Taylor Jette (Simsbury, Conn.) hit the post with 30 second remaining in the period only to lead to a Lawlor goal to give Bowdoin the 6-0 advantage with only seven seconds left.

In the second half, Crimmins put the hosts on the scoreboard as Galloway found him alone near the crease to make it 6-1 with 12:47 left in the third quarter.

After winning the ensuing face-off and racing down the field, Schairer had a chance for two goals in just seconds, but Williamson denied the shot for the Polar Bears to keep it a 6-1 game.

Trailing 7-1 heading into the fourth quarter the Owls found their stride a little too late, scoring six goals in the period, including three in the final two minutes. The prettiest being the last one, when Shaw won the draw cleanly and raced down the field to find senior midfielder Jonathan Rodrick (Hampstead, N.H.) as he tumbled his way towards the net before scoring an acrobatic goal to account for the 10-7 final.

The Polar Bears outshot KSC 47-32 in the game. Both teams fared well on clears, with KSC finishing 19-of-23, while Bowdoin completed 22-of-25.

The Owls will return to action this Saturday, as they will host Roger Williams at 4 p.m.