DANBURY, Conn. – Senior midfielder
Haile Ratajack recorded her 11th hat trick of 2023 and the 200th point of her collegiate career, but it was not enough as the No. 4 seed Keene State College women's lacrosse team was defeated by No. 1 Western Connecticut State University 13-3 Thursday in the Little East Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament Semifinals at the Westside Athletic Complex. The loss ends the Owls' season.
Records
- Keene State: 8-11
- Western Connecticut State: 15-2
What Do You Know? with Haile Ratajack and Mindy St. Marie
How it Happened
It was Ratajack that began the scoring in the first quarter despite her team being down a player. At 10:20, the midfielder scored on a free position shot to put the Owls ahead 1-0. It was the only goal KSC would have in the first half, as WestConn scored the next seven goals to go up 7-1 at halftime. Two of those tallies came from junior attacker Colleen Crotty.
The Wolves would open up the third quarter with another goal to extend their lead to 8-1. To end the scoring drought for KSC, Ratajack would lead a charge into the Owls' restraining box before firing in her second goal of the game. But the Owls failed to capitalize, as WestConn finished the third with three more goals to go up 11-2. Ratajack scored her third goal with 4:36 remaining in the fourth, which marked her 200th career point. WestConn then added two more goals to advance to the LEC championship game.
Inside the Crease
- Despite the loss, the Owls finished the season with their most wins in a year since 2019, when the team went 8-8.
- Ratajack finished the season with 58 goals. That is tied for the sixth-most goals in a season in program history, along with Jill Kirk back in 2008. Ratajack also ranks fifth on that list with 59 goals back in 2022. She nearly matched that total despite missing the first three games in 2023.
- Ratajack led all players in both ground balls (7) and caused turnovers (6).
- Freshman midfielder Tess Brown had a game-high seven draw controls for the Owls. She finishes second on the team in that category with 67, only trailing senior midfielder Mindy St. Marie's 80. St. Marie finished the game with two.
- Freshman goalkeeper Kara Moriarty completed her first season in goal for the Owls by making 10 saves. She made at least 10 saves in four games for Keene State in 2023.
