PLYMOUTH, N.H. — The Keene State College women's lacrosse team traveled to Plymouth State University on Saturday afternoon, as they looked to try to end their nine-game losing streak to the Panthers. After a back-and-forth game that saw the Owls go down by up to five and then pull within a goal numerous times, PSU pulled away in the end, for the 16-14 win on the day.

Records

• Keene State: 9-5 (3-2 LEC)
• Plymouth State: 8-6 (3-2 LEC)

How it Happened


For just the third time in their 14 games on the season, the Owls allowed the first goal of the contest, as Julia Donovan put PSU up one, 40 seconds into the game. The Owls responded right back with three consecutive goals over the next 3:40 of play. The first of the goals came after Elle Lyons caused a turnover on defense for the Owls, Tess Brown tied the game up at one apiece with a free position goal on the other end of the field. After Mindy St. Marie won the ensuing draw control for KSC, Brown tallied her second goal in a row, 58 seconds later. The Owls' third consecutive goal came was a reverse of the previous goal, as this time Brown won the draw control, and St. Marie scored to put KSC up a pair. After the Owls' goalkeeper, Mabelle Bessette, made a pair of saves in net (the first of the two being a free position shot saved) PSU answered back with a pair of goals, as Elle Moshier assisted Maddie Hunt for both goals, with the second being a man-up goal with 5:15 remaining to tie the game at three. Annaliese Rudberg helped the Owls retake the lead as she assisted Hayden Smith for a man-up goal with 2:18 remaining in the quarter. PSU scored the last goal in the quarter, as Megan Gaspa scored a man-up goal to tie the game up at 4 for the Panthers. Bessette kept the score tied at four apiece heading into the second as she made her third save on a free position shot in the opening quarter, this time with only 11 seconds remaining in the quarter.
 
PSU started the second quarter on fire, as they scored five straight goals in the opening 8:28 of the quarter to jump out to a 9-4 lead. Amelia Thomas scored the first of the five, 3:05 into the quarter. The second goal came from Tarryn O'Brien on a free position goal and Donovan scored the third, just 18 seconds later. The fourth and fifth goals were scored by O'Brien and Hunt, respectively, and were scored 22 seconds apart from each other. Haile Ratajack scored her first goal of the game, from Hannah Dworkin with 5:33 left in the half, but Jenna Stowell scored for the Panthers, 1:10 later, as they doubled up the Owls 10-5. Chase Gengras and Ratajack each scored one more goal apiece for the Owls in the half, with Dworkin assisting Ratajack's goal, but Elle Moshier scored the final goal of the opening half for the Panthers, as they led KSC, 11-7 heading into halftime.
 
Both goalkeepers made a handful of saves through the opening eight minutes, as Bessette made two saves, including another on a free position shot, and Margie Black, the Panthers' goalkeeper, made three saves through the beginning of the quarter. Black was unable to make a fourth consecutive save as Brown fired a shot past her to bring KSC within three with 6:22 left in the third. After Hunt tallied a man-up goal with 5:10 remaining in the quarter, KSC went on to score three consecutive goals to pull within a goal heading into the final quarter. The first of the three came from Brown on a free position shot, 22 seconds after Hunt's goal. The second of the three came after Riley Devine caused a turnover on defense for the Owls, and it led to Lola Smith scoring a man-down goal with 2:17 remaining in the third. Brown and Smith combined to score the final goal of the third as with just 18 seconds remaining, Brown assisted Smith for her second consecutive goal, to cut the Panthers' lead to 12-11 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
 
PSU opened the scoring in the final quarter with a pair of free position goals, coming from each Thomas and Stowell, as PSU increased their lead to three with 12:56 remaining. The Owls were able to pull within one again after a pair of goals of their own, as Payton Guntulis caused a turnover on defense for the Owls, which led to Brown assisting Hayden Smith for a man-up goal shortly after for the first of the two goals. While the second of the pair of KSC goals came on the Owls' offensive possession after Lyons caused a turnover on defense, Lola Smith assisted Ratajack for her third goal of the game, to bring the score to 14-13 with just under 10 minutes remaining. After the Owls scored two goals, the Panthers scored two more of their own, just as they did to open the quarter, as Donovan and Thomas each scored their third goals of the game to put PSU back ahead by three with 1:42 left in the contest. The Owls looked to score three consecutive goals to end the fourth quarter, just as they had to end the third quarter, but they were only able to score one, as following Dworkin assisting St. Marie on a goal to pull KSC within a pair with a minute remaining, PSU won the ensuing draw control and ran the clock out to hang on to the 16-14 win over the Owls.
 
Inside the Crease

• With the loss, KSC falls to 10-32 in the all-time series between the two schools, as they have dropped the past 10 meetings between the schools.
• Brown led the Owls on the attack with a game-high of six points on the day, coming from four goals and a pair of assists.
• Lyons caused a team-high of three turnovers for KSC, while Devine and Guntulis each recorded a pair of caused turnovers, as well.
• Bessette made 11 saves in net for the Owls in the game, which included six free position shots saves, while Black only made four saves in net for the Panthers.
• KSC had trouble on clears and turnovers in the contest, as they recorded 26 turnovers and went 13-for-24 on clear attempts, compared to 15 and 15-for-17 from the Panthers, respectively.
• The Owls held the advantage on draw controls, as they won 17 to the Panthers' 15, and on free position shots, as KSC went 2-for-4, compared to PSU going 3-for-9.

 
Up Next


Keene State's next game will be back at home for their 2024 regular season home finale, as they will host UMass-Dartmouth on Wednesday, April 24, at 7:00 PM, as the Owls will look to make it 22 straight wins against the Corsairs, dating back to April 3, 2004.
Plymouth State's next game will also be their 2024 regular season home finale, as they will host Vermont State University Castleton on Wednesday, April 24, at 4:00 PM.