WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Senior midfielder Haile Ratajack tied her career high in goals with eight in an 18-13 win for the Keene State College women's lacrosse team over the University of Hartford Tuesday at Al-Marzook Field.
 
Records

• Keene State: 4-8
• Hartford: 6-4

 
How it Happened
It was the Hawks of Hartford that got on the board first, when sophomore midfielder Meghan Smith scored the opening goal 28 seconds into the game. The Owls would not be rattled, as the team went on to score the next five goals in the quarter. The first two came from Ratajack, with assists from senior attacker Jackie DeAngelis and junior attacker Hannah Dworkin. Dworkin would then set up DeAngelis with a goal at 10:36 to make it 3-1 Owls. Senior midfielder Mindy St. Marie and freshman midfielder Tess Brown scored the next two goals, both unassisted, to extend KSC's lead to 5-1. After Hartford ended its scoring drought with a goal, St. Marie wrapped up the quarter by scoring with her team up a player, making it 6-2 KSC heading into the second.
 
The Hawks fought back, scoring five of the first six goals in the second. Ratajack's third goal of the game was the only Owl goal during that stretch, as the game was tied at seven with 6:52 remaining in the first half. Sophomore attacker Kristin Leslie put Keene State back ahead 42 seconds later with her fourth goal of the season. Sophomore attacker Chase Gengras added one more goal for the Owls, while Hartford got an additional tally from junior midfielder Lenaijah Ferguson. Keene State took a 9-8 lead into halftime.
 
The Owls built on their lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks 6-2 in the frame. Gengras continued the scoring for KSC in the second half, scoring her second goal of the day 13 seconds into the quarter. Ratajack, who assisted on that goal, then scored at 12:30 to put her at four goals for the game. Following a Hartford goal, St. Marie scored her third goal of the day, second with the Owls up a player. Ratajack added two more goals in the quarter, while Brown scored another one. The Hawks would get one more goal in the quarter, as Keene State went into the fourth quarter up 15-10.
 
In the final quarter, Ratajack scored two of KSC's three goals in the frame, with the other one coming from Dworkin. Hartford also scored three goals in the quarter, but freshman goalkeeper Kara Moriarty made four of her 11 saves in the quarter to help Keene State win the game.
 
Inside the Crease

• This was the first all-time meeting between these two programs.
• Keene State has won three of its last four games.
• Ratajack and St. Marie both rank in the top 10 in the Little East Conference in goals scored. Ratajack is fifth with 34, while St. Marie is seventh with 25.
• Dworkin finished the game with a season-high six assists. She now leads the LEC in assists (24) and assists per game (2.18).
• Ratajack and Brown are part of a three-way tie for first in the LEC in caused turnovers with 33 each. Brown finished Tuesday's game three, while Ratajack had two. St. Marie led all players with four.

 
Up Next
Keene State wraps up its regular season with five LEC games. The first one is on Saturday, April 15 at Western Connecticut State University at 1 p.m. Hartford has only one game remaining in its regular season, a contest at home against Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday, April 18 at 4 p.m.