KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State Rocket League team looked to remain perfect after their 2-0 start to the season Monday night against Lawrence Tech. After scoring four unanswered goals to come back and take game one, 5-4, the Owls easily took games two and three to take the series, 3-0 and move to 3-0 on the season.
Records
- Keene State: 3-0
- Lawrence Tech: 1-2
How it Happened
Lawrence Tech got on the board first, scoring a goal just 23 second into the contest and followed it up with another goal nearly a minute later for a 2-0 lead for the Blue Devils.
Eric Carlo pulled the Owls to within a goal just 24 seconds later, at the 3:24 mark. Over the next two minutes, the Blue Devils added another pair of goals and looked to pick up the game one win as time started to tick under a minute left in the game. With 48 seconds left, the Owls started their comeback as
Keegan Wilder assisted
Alex Nimiroski on his first goal of the game. Then, just seven seconds later, Wilder scored to bring the Owls to within a goal with 41 seconds left. With 15 seconds left, the Owls knotted the game up at four apiece as Carlo assisted Nimiroski for their third goal in 33 seconds. With only five seconds to go, Carlo sent a centering pass off the wall that all the Blue Devil defenders missed, and Wilder capitalized by sending the ball into the back of the net to give the Owls the 5-4 win on what ended up being the game-winning goal, as Nimiroski made a save on the Blue Devils' last second attempt to seal the win for KSC.
Keene State scored a pair of goals to open game two in the first 1:18 of play, with Nimiroski assisting Wilder on the first goal and Carlo assisting Wilder on the second, to give the Owls a 2-0 lead. A minute later the Blue Devils pulled within a goal, but it did not last long as Wilder picked up his third goal of the match just 29 seconds later, coming from Nimiroski again to give the Owls the two-goal lead once again. Nimiroski picked up his third assist of the match with 1:25 left to play, helping Carlo score an insurance goal for KSC. Carlo's goal ended up being the last one scored in game two as the Owls easily held on for the 4-1 win, taking a 2-0 series lead.
Neither team would score in game three until the 2:50 mark, when Wilder sent a shot on goal that Carlo cleaned up and made sure it crossed the line, for a 1-0 lead for KSC. Wilder added his own goal, 44 seconds later, from Nimiroski, as the Owls took the two-goal lead. Lawrence Tech tried to mount a comeback as they scored with 1:14 left to play, but the Owls locked them down the rest of the way as they picked up the 2-1 win and the 3-0 series win on the day.
Between the Sticks
- Wilder led the Owls on the attack, scoring six goals, while Carlo scored four and Nimiroski added a pair of his own.
- Nimiroski led KSC with four assists, with Carlo assisting three goals and Wilder having a pair.
- Nimiroski also lead the Owls with nine saves, while Carlo and Wilder each had one.
Up Next
Keene State's next contest for Rocket League will come on Monday, February 26, at 7:00 PM against Kettering University.
The next Esports contest for the Owls will come in less than 24 hours, as the Overwatch 2 team will take on Wisconsin-River Falls on Tuesday, February, 21, at 8:15 PM.
