Middletown, R.I. 3/7/12 – After trailing early on 1-0, the Keene State College men's lacrosse team rattled off 11 consecutive goals in the first quarter, en route to a 21-7 victory over Salve Regina University at Gaudet Field Wednesday night.

"We came out guns a-blazing," said KSC Head Coach Mark Theriault. "Scoring 11 goals in the first quarter was a great way to start."

The win, is the first of the season for the Owls, who improve to 1-2. "Not that our first two games weren't great," said Theriault. "Tonight was nice because it was a decisive win and I thought our guys played up to the level where we should be playing."

The loss drops the Seahawks to 1-1 early on in the campaign.

During the KSC 11-0 run, senior captain Matt Schairer (Wrentham, Mass.) netted three goals and dished out an assist to lead the scoring attack in the first stanza. "The midfielders did a great job of dodging their defenders and finding some open guys for some easy scores," said Schairer. "After losing the first two games I think it was important for us to establish ourselves early and build some confidence."

Schairer, who had only two goals coming into Wednesday night's game, torched Salve Regina for a season-high six goals and three assists.

Also netting multiple goals for the Owls, senior Jonathan Rodrick (Plaistow, N.H.), junior Taylor Jette (Simsbury, Conn.), and freshmen Taylor Wicke (Fairfield, Conn.) and Ryan Hart (Richmond, N.H.) all found the back of the net three times in KSC's victory. Junior Ian Hart (Richmond, N.H.) also scored twice for the Owls in the win.

"I thought we distributed the ball very well and had a nice balanced offensive attack," said Theriault. "We didn't have one guy with ten goals, and if we can spread it out like that it makes us all the more dangerous."

Back for his first game for the Owls, junior starting goaltender Jason Leser (Brewster, N.Y.) made his first appearance of the season, stopping 13 shots in the victory. "It's nice to have Jason back," said Theriault. "To have him back in net and getting some quality playing time is important for us down the stretch."

Salve starting netminder Evan Simone (Dover, N.H.) allowed 21 goals and stopped 16 shots in the losing effort.

Shining once again for the Owls, the defense held the Seahawks to only seven goals in the game. Junior Tommy Todd (Billerica, Mass.) led the way with three caused turnovers, while senior Sean LeBlanc (Simsbury, Conn.) had six groundballs and scored a goal for Keene State.

"As an offensive player it is nice to have full confidence in your defense," said Schairer. "They continue to dominate opposing offenses and if they keep playing like that they will keep us in every game we play."

Salve Regina won the battle of the face-offs, taking 19-of-32 from the Owls. Senior midfielder David Shaw (Acton, Mass.) led the way for the Owls, winning 10-of-23 starts. Seahawk midfielder Curtis McKeon (West Haven, Conn.) won 19-of-29 to lead Salve Regina.

The next game for the Owls will be in Florida, as KSC will square off against Springfield College on March 17th.