KEENE, N.H., – The Keene State women's soccer team hosted Worcester State at Dr. Ron Butcher Field for their third game of their four-game home stand. The game was scoreless until the 81st minute, until sophomore Christina Sanders would net her first goal of the season setting the Owls up for the 1-0 win over the Lancers.

Records

• Keene State: 3-2-2, 0-0-1 LEC
• Worcester State: 0-4-1, 0-1 MASCAC

Postgame Interview (Coach Testo)
Postgame Interview (Christina Sanders)

How It Happened

Neither team would score in the first half, although Keene State would get a pair of shots on net and Worcester State would have three shots on goal. Just a minute into the game, Giuliana Stolfi would get a chance on net, but Lancers' goalkeeper, Mallory Dupois, would make a save to keep the game scoreless. A few minutes later, Sonia Moritz would make a pair of saves in net, a minute apart, locking the Lancers down early. 16 minutes into the contest, Alexa Skinner would send a penalty kick towards the net, finding Stolfi right in front of the net, who would get a shot on net only a few yards away, but a deflection off a Lancer defender would set Dupois up for the diving save to keep it 0-0. Moritz would send the game into the half tied at 0-0 after she would make a huge save on an open shot at the top of the box coming from Maddie Breuer of WSU, with five minutes in the half.
 
KSC would start off the second half firing early as Claire Halligan and Joclynn Tyler would each get a shot off for the Owls, but just missing the net wide, in the opening two minutes of the half. Dupois would help the Lancers keep the game 0-0 with 17 minutes left to play as she would make a diving stop to her right and save Skinner's free kick, preventing her from scoring her fourth goal in the past four games. A couple minutes later, the Lancers would look to strike as Raelyn Callahan would juke out two KSC defenders and fire a shot on net, but Moritz would be there for her fourth save of the day as the dove to the left and managed to make the stop. With nine minutes to play, Riley Devine would get a shot on net for the Owls, trying to break the tie, but Dupois would react to the deflection off the Lancer defender in time to make the adjustment and save the ball with little time remaining in the game. Luckily for the Owls, they did not need much more time, as this time Devine passed over to Christina Sanders, who would shoot from well outside the box, sending a shot up and over the outreached arms of Dupois, giving the Owls a 1-0 lead, with eight minutes left to play. With just under five minutes left to play, it looked like the Lancers might get an opportunity to tie the game up as Eric Condon would get a play on a ball all alone, that slipped past the Owls' defense, but Stolfi would come out of nowhere, blocking Condom's shot attempt, helping preserve the Owl's 1-0 lead. Neither team ended up getting another opportunity as the Owls hung on to their lead, defeating the Lancers 1-0.
 
Moritz shut out the Lancers on the day, making four saves on the day, for her first complete game shutout on the season. Dupois finished with five saves on the day. 
 
Inside the Box

• With the win, Keene State improves to 18-5-3 against Worcester State all-time, snapping the three-game winless streak against the Lancers (two losses and one tie).
• Sophomore Christina Sanders scored her first goal of the season, which was the game winner on the day.
• Keene State had a total of 15 shots, including six shots on net, compared to 12 shots, with four shots on net for the Lancers.

Up Next

Keene State hosts Eastern Connecticut this Saturday, September 23, at 1:00 PM to finish off their four-game homestand at Dr. Ron Butcher Field.
Worcester State also plays on Saturday, September 23, as they will host Westfield State at 11:00 AM.