KEENE, N.H. 4/7/12 – Sophomore Eliza Witherbee (Newburyport, Mass.) and senior Sammi Benson (Hampstead, N.H.) netted three goals apiece, as the Keene State College women's lacrosse team upended rival Eastern Conn. State 11-6, in a rematch of last seasons Little East Conference championship game on Saturday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.

KSC, who has won five in a row, jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first half and never looked back. "I thought we were really patient on offense today," said KSC head coach Katie Arsenault. "Because our team is so new in how we play I think we caught them off guard early."

Allowing only six goals, including just the two in the first half, the Owls continue to receive strong play from their defense and goalie. "Defensively we are much better than we were last year and we just get faster every game," said Arsenault.

Sophomore Erin Taylor (Brewster, N.Y.) finished the game with 12 saves and only six goals against in net for KSC. "Erin played a great game in goal for us," said Arsenault. "She continues to be strong in net for us every game." ECSU goaltender Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton, Conn.) made nine saves and allowed the 11 KSC goals in the losing effort.

The Owls, who led by as many as six in the game, jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a nice goal from senior Caitlyn Corace (Mahopac, N.Y.) off a pass from junior Nicole Curry (Hampstead, N.H.) from behind the net with 22:36 left in the half.

Warrior senior Ashley Prizio (Brookfield, Conn.) put ECSU on the scoreboard at the 13:52 mark with an unassisted goal from right outside the crease to make it 2-1.

KSC would then outscore Eastern 5-1 the rest of the half, capped by Curry's goal with 1.1 seconds left on the clock, on a give-and-go from Witherbee for the 7-2 advantage.

Trying to shift momentum out of the halftime break, Warrior senior Nicole Shusdock (Norwalk, Conn.) netted a free position goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 29:10 remaining in the game. But that is as close as ECSU would get, as freshman Polly Grey (Saratoga, N.Y.) would score her fifth goal of the season, with 21 seconds remaining, for the 11-6 LEC victory.  

Corace and Curry also netted two goals each for the Owls. Witherbee also dished out two assists to finish the game with a game-high five points. "Eliza stepped up for us today," said Arsenault. "With Lauren Brown (Agawam, Mass.) being out sick, she handled the attack and played well."

Prizio led the Warriors with three goals in the game. Shusdock, Daniella Marchitto (Orange, Conn.), and Christine Lillis (Waterford, Conn.) each also netted unassisted goals for Eastern in the loss.

In the game, KSC outshot the Warriors 30-20, and scooped up 11 groundballs to Eastern's five. Both teams were successful clearing the ball with the Owls clearing 14-of-16 opportunities, while the Warriors were successful on 10-of-13 chances.

The Owls return to action Monday afternoon, as they will travel to in-state rival New England College for a 4 p.m. non-conference matchup in Henniker, N.H. The Warriors play next at home against Conn. College on Thursday night at 6 p.m. in Mansfield, Conn.