KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State men's soccer team looked to continue their dominance in LEC play Wednesday as they hosted Plymouth State under the lights at Dr. Ron Butcher field. After 90 minutes of play, neither team had netted a goal, as the match ended in a 0-0 tie and both teams picked up a point in the LEC standings. 

Records

• Keene State: 7-3-2, 4-0-2 LEC
• Plymouth State: 3-3-4, 0-3-2 LEC

Postgame Interview (Coach Schmidt)

How It Happened
Keene State would outshoot the Panthers 10-4 in the first half, as they looked to score a goal in the first 45 minutes of play, as they had done in four of their five conference games so far this year. The teams would trade possessions over the first 20 minutes of play that would see a pair of Keene State shots, going either high or getting blocked, and one from Plymouth State that would go wide of the goal. Cristian Correa would get his first shot on net for the Owls in the 21st minute, as Panthers' goalie, Kole Matta would make the save. Just after halfway through the first half, Walter Driscoll would get a shot off for PSU, but Regan Racicot would make the save for the Owls. A few minutes later, Racicot would make another save, this time on Aidan Doyle, to keep the match scoreless with less than 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Two minutes after Racicot's save, Matta made a save of his own, denying Cedrick Ishoboravyose of a goal for the Owls. In the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Owls would get six shots off, having five go wide of the net and Matta making a save in net, as the teams would head to halftime tied 0-0.
 
Keene State would come out of the half and outshoot PSU 7-0 in the first 22 minutes of the second half. Although there was a large quantity of shots, the quality was not there, as the Owls only had one of the shots hit the net, that Matta was able to save; seeing four of the shots miss the target and the Panthers' defense block a pair of shots. With just under 20 minutes remaining in the contest, the Panthers had a pair of shots of their own as the Owls' defense would block the first and then Racicot would save the second. The Owls' attack would continue to apply pressure on PSU, as they would get four shots off in as many minutes late in the match. Matta would make a pair of saves, one on each Drukpa and Correa, while Drukpa would take the other two shots and send them over the net as the clock had run down to less than eight minutes remaining. The Panthers' final shot would be blocked by the Owls with five minutes remaining, but PSU would have one more opportunity with two minutes left, as Sondre Asheim would look to have a one-on-one with Racicot from the edge of the box, but Elias Stowell-Aleman would make a slide tackle that would made Asheim lose the ball before he was able to get a shot off and take the ball the other day for the Owls. Keene State would get one more opportunity on the ensuing possession as Damir Hamzic would try to head home the game winner, but it would sail over the net as the game would end in a 0-0 draw. 
 
Racicot made three saves in net for the Owls on the day, making two in the first and then one in the second. Matta made six saves in net for the Panthers, making three in each half of play. 
 
In his postgame interview, Matt Schmidt, the head coach for the Keene State men's soccer team, talked about how that was not the ideal outcome that he and his team were looking for, "I think there was a lot of good things. Obviously right now, [our players] are frustrated with that result. I am frustrated, I mean you saw in the second half, tons of opportunities, tons of chances, definitely carried the play, just could not find that finishing class. And you know, that happens, and this is a long-time rivalry game, so they are jacked up for this game. Credit them for getting in the way, credit to their keeper for making the saves."
 
When talking about how they can improve and adjust looking forward, Schmidt explained, "I think we needed to be a bit more settled. When we played simple and we moved the ball crisp, and we created great chances. Whether it was just we were worked up or them getting in the way or it was a combination of those things, we just couldn't find that finishing touch and that is something that we need to work on moving forward. I want to make sure they know to just trust the process. They really haven't been in a situation like this, where they are just totally dominant to another team on the ball, so it was a new picture for them to try to solve."
 
Schmidt talked about how they can improve heading into an important game against Southern Maine on Saturday and credited the team and leadership, even though the outcome was not ideal today, "Today's voice from our leadership and our team before the game, during the game, was very steady. If they keep figuring it out and solving problems, I told them 'Boys, there will be times where we run into adversity, there is going to be times where it doesn't work', so like I said, they got to keep solving those problems. Their voice was very confident on that even though they did not get the result they wanted and that is what great teams have to figure out. You are not always going to get the exact outcome and results that you want, you got to keep putting that excellence in."
 
Inside the Box

• With the draw, Keene State still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 18-11-2, ending the Owls' four game winning streak in the series, where they had outscored the Panthers 14-2. 
• The Owls outshot the Panthers 23-7, including six to three shots on net. 
• Owls' freshman Cristian Correa led all players with three shots on goal, out of his six total shots.
• Keene State's Rahul Drukpa led all players with nine shots in the match, two of which were on net.
• This is the second time that a contest ended in a 0-0 draw this season for the Owls, with the other coming against another LEC opponent, Western Connecticut State, back on September 16.

Up Next

Keene State's next game is on the road as they will travel to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, October 14, at 1:00 PM.
Plymouth State's returns home for their next game, as they will take on Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday, October 14, at 3:00 PM.