PLYMOUTH, N.H. 4/24/12 – Senior Matt Schairer (Wrentham, Mass.) and junior Ian Hart (Richmond, N.H.) each had four goals to lead the Keene State College men's lacrosse team to a 17-10 Little East Conference victory over rival Plymouth State University in Plymouth, N.H. on Tuesday.

            Winners of five straight, Keene State improves to 8-5 (5-1 LEC) and moves into second place in the LEC standings.  Plymouth State, which has dropped its last four games, falls to 8-3 (2-4 LEC).

            The Owls scored early and often on the way to taking a 4-1 first quarter lead.  Ian Hart scored a man-up and even-strength goal to end the quarter.  "We took it to them early, got them a little discouraged and just kept on rolling from there," said Hart.  "We had a lot of guys contribute.  It's really hard to stop your offense when you have multiple players that can put up numbers." 

            Keene State kept the pressure on the Panthers in the second quarter, outscoring PSU 7-2 on the way to building an 11-3 halftime lead.  Ian Hart had a couple unassisted goals in the quarter, giving him 25 on the season. 

            Schairer had two of the Owls' three goals in the third quarter, helping KSC take a 14-5 lead.  Keene State scored the first three goals in the fourth quarter to go up 17-5. 

            The Panthers scored the final five goals of the game with freshman Nick Morello (North Billerica, Mass.) finding the back of the net three times against KSC back-up freshman goalie Eric Palmer (Hinesburg, Vt.)

            Junior J.T. Galloway (Simsbury, Conn.) netted three goals while freshman Ryan Hart (Richmond, N.H.) finished with a pair.  "We're getting into a flow right now and it's a good time because we're getting ready for the tournament," said Ian Hart.  

Keene State finished with a decisive advantage in shots (46-30) and ground balls (53-20) and a narrow margin in face-offs (16-14).  KSC junior Jason Leser (Brewster, N.Y.) made 11 saves while allowing only five goals in the KSC net to earn the win before departing with nine minutes remaining.  Palmer finished up and stopped one shot.  PSU senior Jack Tyo (East Sandwich, Mass.) made nine saves in the PSU goal.

Keene State hosts Western Conn. in its final regular season game on Saturday (3:30 p.m.).