PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Keene State women's soccer team traveled to Plymouth State on Wednesday for their second of three straight LEC games. After Plymouth State tied the game up at one apiece with 30 minutes to go, Elizabeth Kopicko would head the game winner home off a corner from Giuliana Stolfi in the final minutes of the game, giving the Owls the 2-1 win.

Records

• Keene State: 7-2-4, 3-0-3 LEC
• Plymouth State: 3-6-2, 1-4 LEC

How It Happened
Keene State came out hot and applied the pressure early, outshooting Plymouth State 9-0, with five shots on net in the first half. In the first five minutes, the Owls would get three shots off, but the Panthers' goalkeeper, Drea Oswell, would save the first two shots coming from Elizabeth Tschudin and Alexa Skinner, and Stolfi's shot would go wide of the net. Halfway through the first half, Oswell would make another pair of saves, denying Stolfi and Kopicko from scoring for the Owls, keeping the match scoreless. With 10 minutes left in the first half, Stolfi would nearly put the Owls on the board, but her shot would ring off the crossbar. Just a few minutes later, the Owls would take the lead as Kendall Healey would send a rocket on net from the edge of the Panther's box, just over Oswells' hands, giving Keene State the 1-0 lead. The final five minutes of the first half would go scoreless as the Owls went into halftime up 1-0.
 
The Panthers would come out of halftime and try to even the game up at one early in the second half. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Panthers got off four shots with the first going wide right and the second being saved by the Owls' goalkeeper, Sonia Moritz. The third would come from Tindra Bergstrand, as her shot went past Moritz and bounced off the left post, right to Molly Bellmore for the equalizing goal for the Panthers. Each team would trade shots on net as Moritz and Oswell would each make another save a piece. Plymouth State would get three more shots off as they tried to pull ahead, but all their shots would go wide of the net and the score would remain 1-1. Emily O'Connell would try her attempt at giving the Owls the lead, but Oswell would make the save and deflect the ball out of bounds for an Owls corner. Stolfi took the corner for Keene State and sent it into the box, finding Kopicko, who would head it into the back of the net, giving the Owls a 2-1 lead with 6:34 left to play. After Oswell made a save in net with three minutes to play, the Panthers went on the attack looking for another equalizer, as they got three shots off in the final minutes. Moritz would only need to make one save though, as the other two went wide and the Owls would hang on for the 2-1 win over the Panthers.
 
Moritz made three saves on the day, while allowing one goal, as she faced all the Panthers' shots in the second half. Oswell made seven saves in net, four in the first half and three in the second, while allowing two goals in the match.
 
"We weren't at our best today but found a way to win." Sarah Testo, Head Coach of the Keene State women's soccer team said. It is getting towards the end of the season and the conference games are very important and Testo noted it, "Getting an LEC win on the road, you got to take it."
 
 
Inside the Box

• With the win, Keene State improves to 30-2-1 all time against Plymouth State, having won the past five games by a combined score of 16-5.
• Kopicko led all players on either team with three shots on goal on the day, with the final one being the most important shot of the game. Kopicko's goal was her third of the season, all of which have been game-winning goals for the Owls.
• Keene State outshot Plymouth State 14-11, including nine to four shots on net.
• The Owls finished with eight corner kicks, compared to three for the Panthers.

Up Next

Keene State's next game is at home as they will host the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, October 14, at 1:00 PM.
Plymouth State's next game is on Saturday, October 14, at 2:00 PM, as they will travel to take on Eastern Connecticut State.