KEENE, N.H., – The Keene State men's soccer team returned home on Wednesday night after three straight away games to continue LEC play, hosting Vermont State University Castleton. Mbambi Mbungu would lead the Owls past the Spartans on the attack, netting all three goals on the day for a 3-0 Owls victory, their third straight.

Records

• Keene State: 5-2-1, 2-0-1 LEC
• Vermont State Castleton: 3-6, 1-2 LEC

How It Happened
Keene State would take control for most of the first half, possession the ball 58% of the first 45 minutes played. The Owls would apply pressure early, with three shots in the first eight minutes of play, including two shots on goal that Spartan goalkeeper Andrew Soto-Burgos would save. Keene State would continue to apply the pressure for the remainder of the first half, outshooting the Spartans seven to three, including two shots on goal to none, until with under four minutes left in the first half, Giacomo Sinopoli would have the ball in the Spartans' box, juke out Soto-Burgos, and made a short pass over to Mbambi Mbungu, who would send the ball home for the Owls' first goal of the day. VTSU Castleton would try to draw even before halftime, but both of their attempts would be blocked for the Owls, making the score 1-0 heading into halftime.
 
KSC would continue to apply the pressure early in the second half as Mbungu would score his second goal of the game not even two minutes into the half, coming off a cross from Elias Stowell-Aleman, putting the Owls up a pair. Mbungu was not done yet though, as just eight minutes later, he would get the crossing pass from Cristian Correa and made a diving kick that would land the ball in the back of the net, securing his hat trick on the day, with 35 minutes still to play. Over the next 25 minutes, neither team would manage a shot on net, with each team attempting three shots apiece, only for them all to be blocked. Regan Racicot would make his lone save in net with 10 minutes left to play off a shot from Matt Spiller outside the box for the Spartans. After subbing in with 34 minutes left to play, Jonathan Maul would only need to make one save in net for the Spartans, which came in the final minute of the game as Correa would try to add a goal to his assist earlier in the second half. Correa fired a shot from the edge of the box that deflected off a Spartan defender, causing Maul to have to dive the opposite direction for the save, keeping the ball from sneaking under the crossbar, right before the clock was ran out, keeping the final score 3-0.
 
Racicot posted his third straight win, which includes two shutouts, only needing to make one save on the day. Soto-Burgos made four saves and allowed three goals over his 66 minutes in net, before Jonathan Maul would take over and make one save on the one shot he faced in the final seconds of the match. 
 
Inside the Box

• Keene State improves to 7-2 all time against VTSU Castleton, winning the previous four games by a combined score of 17-5.
• The Owls outshot the Spartans 19 to nine, including seven shots to one on net.
• Mbungu passed his career high of seven goals last season by scoring his eighth of the season, which includes his second hat trick on the year. After scoring a goal in the previous match, Mbungu has scored four goals over the past two games, for the second time this season. 

Up Next

• Keene State travels to UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday, September 30 at 1:00 PM for their next match.
• Vermont State Castleton also plays on Saturday, September 30 at 1:00 PM as they will travel to take on Eastern Connecticut State.