DANBURY, Conn.--Samantha Ballard scored what proved to be the game winning goal as the Keene State College women's lacrosse team rebounded from a 7-5 halftime deficit for a 12-10 win over Western Connecticut State University in Little East Conference action on Saturday.

Records

• Keene State: 5-6, 2-0 LEC
• Western Connecticut State: 3-4, 0-1 LEC

Up Next

• The Owls return home to host Castleton on April 12 at 4 p.m.
• Western Connecticut State travels to St. Joseph's (Long Island) on April 12 to begin at 4 p.m.

Tale of the Tape

• Sophomore Tori Weinstock had four goals and an assist to pace the KSC offense.  Ballard, Taylor Graf, Jenna Bellano, and Taylor Farland each had two goals apiece.
• Graf had six more assists, her second time in three games with at least six, and her fourth game this year with at least five.  She now has 32, more than halfway to the school record of 60 set by Lauren Sawyer in 2010.
• Leading the offensive effort for Western was sophomore Lindsey Eanniello with three goals, followed by junior Raquel Heitor and junior Meaghan Gustafson who each scored twice.  Eanniello also led the Colonials in assists with two.
• Anna O'Brien earned her first collegiate win with three saves in 39 minutes of action for Keene State.

First Half Highlights

• Keene State took an early lead with a goal from Ballard one minute into the first half, but Western responded with back to back goals less than 30 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead.
• Keene State answered on the next possession through an unassisted goal from Farland to even the score at 2-2, and four minutes later the Owls scored a pair of goals for a 4-2 lead with 23:05 remaining in the half.
• For the next 21 minutes, Western took control of the game at both ends of the field, going on a 5-0 run to take a 7-4 lead.
• With just over one minute remaining in the half, Bellano cut the Western lead to 7-5, and the Colonials took that two-goal lead into the locker room at intermission.

Second Half Highlights

• Keene State got off to a strong start in the second half, scoring five straight goals in 11 minutes, with three goals coming from Weinstock, as the Owls took a 10-7 lead.
• Gustafson ended the Keene State run with a free position goal for Western midway through the second half, cutting the deficit to 10-8.
• Heitor followed two minutes later for Western with an unassisted goal, making the score 10-9, and Eanniello tied the score at 10-10 with 9:11 remaining.
• A goal by Ballard with just under seven minutes remaining put Keene State back in the lead, and a goal by Bellano with two minutes left on the clock gave the Owls some insurance.

(Parts of this story courtest Western Conn. State)