Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass.— After their best start to a season since 2010, the Keene State College women's lacrosse team looked to improve upon it, by avenging their 18-4 loss from Western New England University in 2023 on Thursday night at Golden Bear Stadium. Thanks to a balanced attack that saw eight members of the team tally a point, the Owls improved to 3-0 for the first time in program history, as they held the Golden Bears' comeback off, and picked up the 13-11 win.
Records
- Keene State: 3-0
- Western New England: 0-4
How it Happened
The Owls opened the first quarter hot, scoring four goals before the Golden Bears were able to score one of their own.
Annaliese Rudberg scored her first goal of the season, just a minute into the game on a free position goal. Shortly after,
Lola Smith picked up an assist on a goal from
Chase Gengras, then scored a goal of her own 36 seconds later to put KSC up three, 2:57 into the contest. Gengras also picked up an assist on the next KSC goal, as she assisted
Hayden Smith on a goal.
Mabelle Bessette made three saves (including two free-position saves) in net for the Owls through the start of the first before WNE was able to score their first goal, which came with 7:27 left in the first, as Emmy Burns assisted Mia Celentano for the goal. Shortly after,
Mindy St. Marie netted another goal for KSC, bringing the score to 5-1. Each team scored a goal through the remainder of the first as
Lola Smith scored a free-position goal for KSC and Lina Eves scored a man-up free-position goal for WNE to bring the score to 6-2 for the Owls entering the second quarter.
Fiona Dean made three saves in net for the Golden Bears to open the second quarter, but she was unable to make a fourth in a row, as
Haile Ratajack assisted Gengras for the first goal in the second. Eves scored her second free-position goal for WNE on the day with 8:21 left in the opening half. Two minutes later, WNE pulled to within three, as Celentano scored a man-up free-position goal for the Golden Bears. The Owls answered back with a pair of goals, with both coming from
Tess Brown, with one being man-up, as the Owls took a 9-4 lead into halftime.
Both teams traded goals entering the third quarter, as Burns scored for WNE and
Lola Smith assisted
Amethyst Phelps for her first goal of the year for the Owls, bringing the score to 10-5 for KSC. Two and a half minutes later, St. Marie increased the lead to six for KSC with another free-position goal. WNE tried to start a comeback as they outscored the Owls, 3-1 in the final 4:18 of the quarter, with goals coming from a free-position goal from Celentano, Ella Henry, and a man-up goal from Ally Ferraro for WNE. Brown assisted
Lola Smith for the last goal for KSC in the quarter, as the Owls tried to hold on to their 12-8 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
Tess Brown opened the scoring, 1:53 into the final quarter, in what would end up being the only goal for the Owls in the quarter. Bessette made another two saves in net for the Owls, including another on a free-position shot, until Celentano was able to get a shot past her on a free-position attempt, bringing the score to 13-9 for KSC. Bessette made another save in net for the Owls on the ensuing Golden Bear possession, but WNE would pick the ball up and then capitalize on a free-position attempt from Lyndsey Bunnell, to pull WNE to within three. Burns tallied the third goal in a row for WNE, to cut the lead to two with 4:21 left, but it would stay at two for the remainder of the game, as Bessette stopped the only other shot on goal for WNE, coming on a free-position attempt, as the Owls stopped the Golden Bears' comeback attempt and picked up the win.
Inside the Crease
- With the win, the Owls pick up their second win over the Golden Bears, improving to 2-6 in the all-time series and ending the Owls six game winning streak between the teams.
- Lola Smith and Mia Celentano tied for the most points, with each logging five in the contest. Smith tallied a pair of goals and three assists, while Celentano recorded four goals and an assist.
- Bessette logged a career-high of 13 saves in the win, which included five free-position shots saved. Her 13 saves are the most by an Owls since Haley Terva made 14 saves against Western Connecticut State University, back on April 16, 2022.
- Ratajack once again led everyone in caused turnovers, with four in the win.
- KSC made the most of their free-position shots, going 3-5, compared to WNE going 6-14.
Up Next
Keene State returns home for their next game, as they will host Emmanuel College on Saturday, March 9, at 1:00 PM.
Western New England will continue to look for their first win of their 2024 season, as their next game will come against Framingham State University down in Panama City Beach, Florida, during their Spring Break trip.
