PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Keene State College men's soccer team traveled to take on their in-state rival, Plymouth State University, on Wednesday night as the Owls looked to bounce back from their 5-0 defeat to the University of Massachusetts-Boston in their last contest. After the game sat at one apiece for 60 minutes, a goal with 10:40 left on the clock from
Cristian Correa, for his second goal of the game, gave KSC the 2-1 lead on the day for the Owls.
Records
- Keene State: 4-6-3 (3-2-1 LEC)
- Plymouth State: 5-7-2 (2-3-1 LEC)
How it Happened
Correa got the Owls on the board, just 4:54 into play, as
Elias Stowell-Aleman sent a pass into the Panthers' box to
Martin Lubunga and tapped it over to Correa, whose shot went past the Panthers' goalkeeper, Nicolas Cornejo, to put KSC up 1-0. PSU was on the attack soon after as they looked to draw even. After Owls' goalkeeper,
Regan Racicot, made a save on the Panthers' first shot of the game and saw the next three miss the target, Walter Driscoll fired a shot past Racicot to tie the game in the 21st minute. Both teams traded possessions the rest of the first half, as only PSU recorded another shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes of play, but Racicot saved the shot on Ethan Bryce, to send the contest into the half tied at one apiece.
Racicot opened the second half just how he ended the first, by making a save, but this time on Vince Cassarino, to deny the Panthers from taking a lead 6:46 into the second half. 18 minutes later, Correa looked to get another chance to tally a goal for the Owls, but Cornejo was fortunate because Correa's shot rang off the crossbar and the game remained tied with less than 20 minutes remaining to play. A minute later, following a KSC corner kick, Cornejo made a pair of saves on KSC, denying Stowell-Aleman of his first goal of the year and
Alex Nicolas of his fourth goal over the past six games. Nicolas continued to pester Cornejo in the net, with another pair of shots, with the first going wide and the second hitting the crossbar, just as Correa's had done not too long before. After the Panthers tried to take the late lead but were denied by Racicot, not even a minute later on the other end of the field,
Giacomo Sinopoli picked up an assist on Correa's go-ahead goal that snuck just under the crossbar this time to put KSC up 2-1 with 10:40 remaining. The Panthers were unable to mount a comeback attempt in the contest, as the Owls' defense did not allow a shot off in the remainder of the contest, as the Owls held on to the one-goal victory over PSU to pick up three crucial points in the conference standings.
Inside the Box
- With the win, KSC improves to 19-11-2 in the all-time series between the two schools, as they have gone 5-0-1 over the past six games and outscored the Panthers, 16-3.
- Today's game was Correa's second collegiate game with a pair of goals, as the last time was also a 2-1 win for the Owls when he scored both goals in KSC's 2-1 win over Worcester State University back on October 24, 2023.
- The Owls outshot the Panthers, 15-10, even though both teams recorded five shots on goal.
- Racicot made four saves while allowing one goal in net, while Cornejo made three saves while allowing a pair of goals.
- KSC is now in fourth place in the LEC standings, with 10 points. They are five points behind Western Connecticut State University and Rhode Island College and three points behind UMass-Boston.
Up Next
Keene State is back at home for their next contest for senior day, as they will host the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, October 19, at 3:00 PM.
Plymouth State will play next on the road against Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday, October 19, at 12:00 PM.
