DANBURY, Conn. – The Keene State College men's soccer team traveled to Western Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon and played to a 0-0 draw in the Little East Conference opener for both teams at the Westside Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State: 2-2-1, 0-0-1 LEC
• Western Connecticut State: 3-1-1, 0-0-1 LEC

How It Happened
Across the first 45 minutes of play, Keene State would outshoot Western Connecticut State 5-4, although each team only had one shot on goal as defense carried the day.  KSC junior goalkeeper Regan Racicot would make the first save of the game 18 minutes into the contest, as WCSU was attacking into the Owls' defensive zone, when he came and challenged Eduardo Vargas for the Wolves and made the save to keep the game scoreless.  KSC did not register their first shot attempt until 33 minutes into the match, as Giacomo Sinopoli would be pressured by the Wolves' defense before sailing a shot high of the goal.  Not even a minute later, KSC would generate a more bonified chance, as Cedrick Ishoboravyose would push the ball up the field and get a shot off inside the box, going between the legs of the defender guarding him but not past the goalie, as Zachary Benson would make the save for the Wolves.  Keene State's other three shots in the half went wide, high, and were blocked - and all five shots in the half came in a seven-minute span.  WCSU would have two corner kicks in the final few minutes of the first half, but KSC was able to clear the ball each time, helping keep the game 0-0 heading into the locker rooms.
 
In the second half, WCSU outshot Keene State 6-0, including five shots on target.  Three of the shots on goal came in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but each time Racicot was able to cleanly a save  In the 70th minute, the KSC keeper would make another stop, this time off a header from Jacob Burdick for the Wolves.  As the time in the match was winding down, WCSU kept pushing on the attack hoping to sneak a last second goal in for the win, but Racicot made another save at the 89:34 mark in what proved to be the final chance of the day to preserve the scorless draw. 

"Progress is showing up in many places, and yesterday was a case of consistency for close to 90 minutes.  The team took a step forward defensively and on set pieces," said Keene State head coach Matt Schmidt.  "We won many of the 50/50 battles and the things required to get a result.  Now we need to make small adjustments in the attack.  We need to be a little more patient and composed, and the same way we scored early in the season will start to finish against some of these tougher defenses."
 
Racicot made a total of six saves in his second shutout of the season, while Benson only had to make one save for the Wolves.
 
Inside the Box

• With the draw, Keene State ends a four-game losing streak to WCSU where they were outscored 14-4.  KSC leads the all-time series 19-10-3.
• Both teams recorded their first tie on the season, including picking up a point in the LEC season standings.  WestConn went a perfect 8-0 in league play last season but was upended in penalty kicks in the conference tournament championship game by the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
• Racicot has a 1.11 goals against average and has allowed five goals in five starts this season.

Up Next

• Keene State will travel to New England College (2-0-3) on Monday, September 18, at 7:00 PM.
• Western Connecticut hosts Western New England University (0-3-3) on Tuesday, September 19, at 6:00 PM.