Box Score KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College men's lacrosse team used a six goal first quarter and never trailed in their 12-7 win over Eastern Connecticut State Saturday afternoon at Owl Stadium.
These two teams have combined to win all 14 LEC regular-season titles and all but one playoff championship. Their last meeting was in the 2014 LEC Championship, won by KSC.
Rob Hart had a game-high four goals for the Owls. Tyler McKelvie added three goals, two assists, while Tyler Reilly finished with two goals and one assist. Mike Curley collected a team-high eight ground balls.
KSC came out of the gates fired up, taking a 2-0 lead on tallies by Reilly and McKelvie. The Warriors responded immediately, notching two of their own to tie the game at 2-2 with 9:04 on the clock.
The Owls then went on a run of four-straight to close out the quarter with a 6-2 advantage. KSC continued their streak as they received goals from Hunter Arnold, Ryan Hart and McKelvie to open up the second stanza, holding a 9-2 lead with 7:02 left in the half.
Dean Accomando gave Eastern Connecticut their only score of the corner at the 3:27, making the halftime score 9-3.
Both teams played a scoreless third period until Dane Heckmann's tally brought the Warriors withing 9-5. Another Eastern goal at the start of the fourth quarter made things close, but back-to-back goals by Rob Hart put the game out of reach as the Owls took an 11-5 lead with 4:19 left in regulation.
A crucial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 5:58 was called on Eastern, allowing the Owls to play man-up for three minutes.
Hart netted his third goal of the fourth quarter with 3:03 remaining.
James Dowd won 15 of 22 faceoffs for Keene.
The Owls finished with a 58-39 advantage in shots and slim 41-39 edge in groundballs.
Dylan Florian made 13 stops for KSC, while Blake Smaldone had a terrific day for the Warriors registering 21 saves.
Prior to the game, seniors Jack Rogers, Matt Gunst, Brooks Billingham, Ryan Hart, Dylan Florian, Mike Curley, Connor O'Brien, Mackenzie Heimert, Andrew Bosco and Kevin Carey were honored for their contributions to the program.
Up next for the Owls, a home game against UMass Boston Wednesday at 7 p.m.
