Box Score DANBURY, Conn. - Sophomore midfielder Jenna Bellano scored a career-high eight goals to help lift the visiting Keene State College women's lacrosse team to a 16-14 victory over Western Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon.
The Owls, now 5-11 overall and 5-1 in the Little East Conference, secured a first-round bye in the upcoming league tournament, which begins on Tuesday. Western, 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference drops to the third seed and will play UMass Dartmouth in the Quarterfinals. Game time will be decided on Sunday.
Bellano scored six of her game-high eight goals in the second half including what ultimately became the game-winning goal with 10:39 remaining in the game. At that time, the Owls went ahead, 15-12 and held on the rest of the way.
The Colonials took a 7-5 lead into intermission and built a three-goal lead 1:24 in the final stanza when senior Kelsey Heaton notched her team-leading 64th goal of the season, off a feed from Raquel Heitor.
Keene State then went on to score four of the game's next five goals to take a 9-8 advantage. Kaitlin Nolan hooked up with Taylor Graf with 25:36 left.
The contest would be deadlocked four times down the stretch, the final time coming when Destinee Carey tallied her 51st goal of the season off a free-position shot with 14:04 remaining.
The Owls built their lead back up to three goals, 15-12, when Bellano and Nolan joined forces with 10:39 left in the game.
Carey, a sophomore attack, brought Western within a goal, 15-14 at the 7:31 mark but Keene State netminder Alison Argiro stifled the Colonials' defense down the stretch.
Carey finished with a team-high six goals on Saturday. Eanniello added three goals and an assist for the Colonials
Argiro made five saves for the winners while Nicole Petruzzi turned away 13 shots for Western.
Nolan tallied three goals and a pair of helpers for the winners.
The Owls have captured three Little East Conference Tournament Championships, their last in back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012 and will host a semi-final game Thursday, April 30 at 3:30 p.m. Defending champion Plymouth State University has earned the top seed and the other coveted first-round bye. The Panthers have worn five LEC crowns since 2002.
(Recap courtesy of wcsuathletics.com)
