KEENE, N.H. – In a contest that had few quality offensive opportunities by both teams, every chance mattered for both Keene State College and Plymouth State University in the Little East Conference quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night. The Panthers made the most of their opportunities on the day, as they capitalized on three different opportunities to pick up the 3-0 win over KSC.
Records
- Keene State: 4-11-3
- Plymouth State: 10-8-2
Postgame Interview (Matt Schmidt)
How it Happened
Both teams traded possessions back-and-forth over the first 25 minutes of the contest, with neither team mustering a shot on goal, as both teams' shots were either wide of the target, or blocked by the opposing team's defense. The first shot on goal in the contest came from KSC, but
Giacomo Sinopoli's shot for the Owls was saved by the Panthers' goalkeeper, Nicolas Cornejo, in the 26th minute. In the 34th minute, KSC had another opportunity to strike again, but Cornejo made another save coming against
Alex Nicolas, to keep the contest scoreless. Up to the 40th minute in the contest, PSU had not got a shot on goal, but following a handball call on the edge of the box for the Owls, Sondre Asheim buried the penalty kick goal into the back of the net, to put PSU up 1-0, heading into the second half of play.
PSU stuck again extremely quickly in the second half, as only 2:52 into the half, KSC defender,
Dylan Chambers, pass the ball back to the Owls' goalkeeper,
Regan Racicot, who was unable to cleanly play the ball, which led to another goal for Asheim, as he put the easy shot into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead for PSU. KSC tried for the next 28 minutes to get a quality shot on goal, but to the crowds disapproval, none of the Owls' nine shots wound up on goal, coming from only one blocked shot and eight shots going wide of the target for the Owls. With 7:54 left in the game, the Panthers put the final nail in the coffin, as August Westerholm scored from the edge of the box by firing a shot that Racicot thought would go wide of the net, but to everybody's surprise, the shot snuck in the near post to put PSU up 3-0. In the closing seconds, Cornejo made one final save, coming against
Martin Lubunga, to cement the Panthers' first postseason win over KSC in program history.
Inside the Box
- With the loss, KSC still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 19-12-2, as KSC dropped the first game to PSU since October 7, 2017 when the Owls lost 2-1.
- Nicolas led all players in shots by four (with Jack DiGiovanni coming in second with four), with his eight shots coming in the game, but only one shot being on target.
- Sophomore Cristian Correa led the Owls on the season with five goals scored to total 10 points, while Caleb Harmon finished with nine points (four goals and an assist), Alex Nicolas finished with eight (three goals and two assists), and Lubunga wrapped up her first year with seven points (two goals and three assists).
- Racicot posted three shutouts over the year for the Owls, for a 4-9-1 record in goal.
- While no Owls started all 18 games on the season, Correa and Dylan Chambers both started and played in 17 games across the season for KSC.
- KSC outshot PSU 19-6 in the contest, with both teams having three shots on goal, and KSC having a massive 7-0 corner kick advantage.
Up Next
Keene State's season comes to a close with a final record of 4-11-3, as KSC ended the season on a five-game scoreless streak.
Plymouth State will move on in the LEC semifinals as they will take on Western Connecticut State University on Thursday, November 7, at 6:00 PM.
