SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Keene State men's lacrosse team traveled to Western New England University Tuesday afternoon for their first road game of their 2024 season. The Golden Bears opened the scoring early and scored often, as the Owls were unable to come back from the early deficit and fall to 0-2 to start the season, after the 19-11 defeat.

Records

• Keene State: 0-2
• Western New England University: 1-0

How it Happened


Western New England opened the game, and their season on fire to start the first quarter, as they netted eight goals, all in the first 11 minutes and 50 seconds to put them far ahead of the Owls early on. Dylan Hanley opened the scoring for WNE just 51 seconds into the contest and accounted for the following four goals, as he assisted on a pair of goals to Jack Houlden and then netted the fourth goal himself, followed with assisting on the fifth goal to Nick Campagnone. Brian Madden assisted Houlden for his third goal of the game, while Hanley netted another, followed by Jacob Roy scoring the eighth and final goal of the first quarter for WNE. KSC added a pair of goals in the final 2:37 of the quarter, with Rex Maccarini assisting Ben Tukey on the first goal, and Tim Souza netting the second goal to make the score 8-2 for WNE heading into the second. In the first quarter, Charlie Giuliotti made four saves in net for KSC, to three from Carter Randall of WNE.
 
The second quarter was nearly the same as the first, with WNE scoring six goals to open the quarter this time, followed by one by KSC. Five different goal scorers netted goals during the six-goal span for WNE, including by Hanley, James Wrynn, Zachary Mein, Joseph Bussinelli, and a pair from Thomas Labbe, while Hanley, Bussinelli, and Joseph Contino each picked up an assist over the goal span for WNE. KSC's only goal of the quarter was an unassisted goal by Maccarini with 37 seconds left in the opening half, bringing the score to 14-3 for WNE. Giuliotti added another pair of saves, while Randall made one save across the second quarter.
 
The third quarter was the lowest combined scoring quarter on the day, as each team netted three goals apiece over the 15 minutes, trading goals both ways. KSC scored first in the third on a man-up goal, but Brock Busa answered right back for WNE as he won the faceoff and went down and scored for the Golden Bears. KSC scored on their next possession on a goal from Jack Ansart, following a caused turnover from Andrew Miller. With 8:55 left in the quarter, Hanley added his ninth and final point of the game, a man-up goal from Labbee. Maccarini picked up another assist just over a minute later as he assisted Ansart's goal, which was the last goal for KSC in the quarter. Kevin Morina netted the last goal of the quarter, coming from Contino, as WNE took a 17-6 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of the contest. Randall made one save in net for WNE on the quarter, while Jonathon Salsbury made four more for the Golden Bears and Giuliotti made a pair for KSC.
 
The fourth quarter was the best scoring wise quarter for the Owls on the day, as they outscored the Golden Bears 5-2 in the final quarter. After WNE opened the scoring in the fourth with a goal from Roy, assisted by Dylan Nardone, KSC scored a pair of goals in a row; those coming from Chris Adriaansen and Andrew Miller, assisted by Matthew Quinlan. Max Rudgers scored the final goal for WNE of the day with 5:22 left to play. KSC scored three goals to wrap the game up in the final 3:34, with Miller adding a pair of goals and the other coming from Sebastian Foresi. In the fourth quarter, Salsbury made four saves in net for WNE, while Ryan Valentine made a save in net for the first time of his collegiate career, as it was his first time in action for the freshman from Barrington, R.I.
 
 
Inside the Crease

• With the loss, KSC falls to 3-9 all-time vs WNE, having lost the previous six meetings, and being outscored by a score of 100-60.
• Western New England did much of their damage early in the first half thanks to their faceoff wins and scoring on the ensuing offensive possession, as the Golden Bears won 14 of the 18 faceoffs in the first 30 minutes of play.
• Both teams failed to clear the ball three times, with KSC going 18-21 and WNE going 19-22.
• Maccarini led KSC with four points (one goal and three assists) and Hanley led WNE with nine points (five goals and four assists) on the day. 
• Giuliotti and Salsbury each made eight saves in net, while Randall made five saves.

 
Up Next


Keene State's next game will be against another Commonwealth Coast Conference opponent on Saturday, February 24, at 1:00 PM as they will travel to take on the Wentworth Institute of Technology. 
Western New England's next game will take place Sunday, February 25, at 1:00 PM as the Golden Bears will travel to take on St. Lawrence University.