KEENE, N.H. 3/4/13 – The Keene State College women's lacrosse team opened its season with a 11-6 non-conference loss to Springfield College at chilly Owl Athletic Complex on Monday.

            Freshman Kaitlin Nolan (Mahopac, N.Y.) scored two goals and senior Nicole Curry (Hampstead, N.H.) finished with a goal and two assists to lead Keene State (0-1). Seniors Lindsay McManus (Dover, N.H) and Lauren Brown (Agawam, Mass.) and junior Eliza Witherbee (Newburyport, Mass.) also found the back of the net for the Owls.

            Freshman Connie Nielsen (Sayville, N.Y.) scored four goals and junior Kerstin Lindrooth (Byrn Athyn, Pa.) and sophomore Michelle Dorsey (Wilbraham, Mass.) tallied two goals each for the Pride (2-0).

            Keene State never led in the game.  Falling behind 5-2, KSC cut the lead to 5-3 on a free position goal by Curry at the 7:33 mark of the first half.  Holding the ball for the final shot, Nielsen netted her third goal of the half with four seconds on the clock to give Springfield a 6-3 halftime lead.

            Stealing the ball at midfield, Curry hit a streaking Brown for a goal that made it a 6-4 game five minutes into the second half.  The two teams traded goals with Nolan scoring on a free position shot to cut the deficit to 7-5 with 13:23 to play.

            The Pride put the game away by scoring the next four goals to go up 11-5.

            "You could tell it was the first game. It's good to get our jitters out now," said Curry. "We know what we need to work on for Wednesday's game.

            "They looked scared, especially in the first half, but we played much better in the second half," said KSC Coach Katie Arsenault.  "Our offense needs a little bit of work and we need to work on our transition.  It took us awhile to get the ball out of our end. There's a lot to work on, but we have the talent to do it."            

            Springfield outshot the Owls 28-21 while KSC had a slim 10-8 advantage in draw controls.

            Junior Erin Taylor (Brewster, N.Y.) finished the game with 12 saves for the Owls.  Junior Anne Versprille (Franklin, Mass.) stopped 10 shots for Springfield College.

            Keene State has yet to beat the Pride in eight meetings.

            Keene State is at Castleton State on Wednesday (4 p.m.).