Box Score KEENE N.H.-The Keene State College men's soccer team used two goals in the second half to propel themselves to their first victory in conference play over Rhode Island College 3-1.
Records:
- Keene State: 5-1-0 (1-0-0 LEC)
- RIC: 3-3-1 (0-1-0 LEC)
How it Happened:
The Owls attack was relentless to start off the first 45 minutes of the contest. The Owls found themselves with plenty of scoring chances to get on the board in the early going. The Owls attack was led by Emmanuel Smith who shot three times in the first half, putting up two shots on goal. The Owls would stick to their attack throughout the first half and would break the ice in the 33rd minute of the contest when James McCully took a pass and dribbled inside the box and was taken down by an Anchormen defender, resulting in a penalty shot for Keene. The Owls Emmanuel Smith would take the penalty kick and make no mistake with the golden opportunity beating the goalkeeper Charlie Tashjian to the lower right corner of the net, giving the Owls the 1-0 lead.
The Anchormen did not have a lot of responsive answers for the Owls first half attack, as they were out shot in the half six to two and only managed to put up one shot on goal in the first half. However, that one shot proved to be a big one heading into the second half as Brandon Ramos took a feed, dribbled into the box and beat Owls goalie Anthony Pasciuto for his first goal of the season, with just two seconds remaining on the clock. The Anchormen and Owls would be tied heading into the final 45 minutes of play.
The late goal in the first half by the Anchormen would not stop the Owls from continuing to dominate the attack. In the 50thminute, the Owls would be right back on the scoreboard when freshman James McCully found the back of the net for the 4th time this season. McCully took a feed from Connor Downey across the box and planted the ball into the left side of the net, giving Keene State the goal advantage. The Anchormen would try to get some offense going, by the line of defense for the Owls featuring Jack Herlihy, Dale Dubinksy, Isaiah Lovering, and Benny Tamzarian would shut down RIC for the afternoon.
Keene State would add an insurance tally in the 61st minute, as LJ Luster was able to find twine off of a free kick that Benny Tamzarian sent through the box to Luster, who netted his second goal of the season, in back to back games. The Anchormen had no answer for the Owls in this one, registering no shots in the second half. Keene State would defeat the Rhode Island College by a final score of 3-1.
Inside the Box:
- Keene State dominated the attack all afternoon long, putting up 14 shots to the Anchormen's two.
- RIC's Charlie Tashjian was kept busy in between the pipes this afternoon, making five total saves on eight shots on goal by the Owls.
- Emmanuel Smith led the way in shots for Keene State registering a total of seven shots, four on goal. Smith netted his team leading 6thgoal of the season in the contest as well.
- The Anchormen put up one shot on goal all afternoon, which resulted in their only goal by Brandon Ramos in the 44thminute.
- Keene State has now defeated RIC two times in a row, making the all-time record of 31-4-2 in favor of Keene.
Up Next:
- Keene State will hit the road on Monday September 23 as they take on the Lasers of Lasell University. Kick-off is set for 3:30 pm.
- Rhode Island College continues their road schedule as they will be at Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday September 25 for a 7:00 start time.
