KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College men's lacrosse team looked to get back above .500 on Tuesday night as they hosted Western Connecticut State University in a matchup of two of the top four teams in the Little East Conference. At the end of the contest, after a back-and-forth game, the Owls were unable to net a last-minute goal once again, as they fell 13-12, for the second consecutive game.  

Records

• Keene State: 6-7 (5-2 LEC)
• Western Connecticut: 11-4 (6-1 LEC)

Postgame Interview (Coach Theriault)

How It Happened
Both teams traded possessions back-and-forth as the game kicked off, and thanks to a pair of saves in net from the WCSU goalkeeper, Brendan Grove, Tyler Starrett scored his first goal of the game with 5:44 remaining in the quarter. Two minutes later, the Owls were presented a man-up opportunity, but after a save from Grove and a shot off the post from Jeff Wiedenfeld for KSC, WCSU took the ball the other way and Tristan McMahon scored the final goal of the opening quarter with 32 seconds remaining in it, to give WCSU the 2-0 lead heading into the second, as they held KSC scoreless in a quarter for the third time this season.
 
Grove continued to make a pair of saves in the opening 1:09 of the second quarter, which led to the Wolves jumping to a 3-0 lead after McMahon scored his second goal in a row, 2:12 into the quarter. KSC pulled within a goal over the next 2:11, as Rex Maccarini and Sebastian Foresi each scored a goal for the Owls. With 8:52 remaining in the opening half, the Wolves increased their lead back to a pair, as Starrett scored yet another goal. KSC responded back to Starrett's goal with four straight of their own, with the first of the four coming after a caused turnover on defense, by Colby Cala, resulted in Andrew Miller assisting Jack Ansart for the goal. After Gabe Pereira won the ensuing faceoff for KSC, Wiedenfeld tallied a goal to tie the game up at four apiece with 5:37 left in the half. The Owls' next goal came after Colby Quiet recorded the faceoff win, as Giacomo Tedone gave KSC their first lead of the game, 38 seconds later. Following a caused turnover by Ty Cougler, KSC capitalized on a man-up opportunity as Wiedenfeld scored a man-up goal with 2:52 remaining in the second quarter. Down 6-4, WCSU scored two goals through the remainder of the half, as a man-up goal from McMahon and a goal from Julian Duque tied the game up at six heading into the second half.
 
Both teams traded goals in the opening 3:48 of the third quarter, as McMahon gave WCSU the lead back and then after a caused turnover by Cougler, Dylan Fadale assisted Andrew Miller for the equalizer. Shortly after Miller's goal, Wiedenfeld assisted Dylan Seymour for the go-ahead goal, but it didn't last too long, as just two minutes later, WCSU tied the game back up at eight, as Starrett scored a man-up goal for the Wolves. After two saves from the Owls' goalkeeper, Charlie Giuliotti, KSC retook the lead with 5:27 remaining in the third after another goal from Wiedenfeld. Through the final 5:27 of the quarter, WCSU continued to pepper Giuliotti in net, as they recorded five shots on target, but he was able to stop all but one of them, as Duque scored a man-up goal that sent the game into the final 15 minutes of play tied at 9-9.
 
KSC kicked off the scoring in the fourth with a goal from Quiet, 2:04 into the quarter, but KSC's lead did not last too long, as 48 seconds later, Joseph Boss tied the game up at 10 apiece for WCSU. After their previous goal, the Wolves scored three more goals over the next 4:15, with Duque scoring a pair (one being man-up) and the other coming from Benjamin Hawthorne, as WCSU jumped to a 13-10 lead with 7:53 remaining in the contest. After the Owls blocked a shot on defense a few minutes later, Wiedenfeld scored his fourth goal of the game to pull KSC within a pair with 3:39 left to play. The Wolves won the ensuing faceoff, but Cougler caused a turnover shortly after, which resulted in the Owls getting within a goal, as Quiet flew past the WCSU defenders and fired a shot into the net with 2:27 remaining. After Quiet won the ensuing faceoff, shortly after he had a good look on net, but Grove made the save with 1:16 remaining. KSC was gifted another chance as the Wolves had a miscommunication and they did not clear the ball in time, but their defense bailed them out as they caused a turnover on Quiet. As the clock was getting to under 30 seconds remaining, all the Wolves had to do was kill the clock, but they once again gave the ball up, as Lou Granger caused a turnover on defense for the Owls, to give them one last chance to tie it up at 13 each. Unfortunately for the Owls, Maccarini would have a final shot attempt in the final seconds, but it would be blocked and WCSU held on for the 13-12 victory over KSC.
 
Inside the Crease

• With the loss, the Owls fall to 21-5 in the all-time series between the two teams, as KSC has lost the three most recent meetings, one this year and then a pair in 2023.
• Wiedenfeld led the Owls with five points in the contest, coming from four goals and an assist for KSC.
• Giuliotti made 12 saves in net, while allowing 13 goals, while Grove only made 10 saves while allowing 12 goals.
• Both teams were fairly matched in the team stats, as WCSU had 41 shots to 40 from KSC, WCSU had 22 turnovers, to 21 by KSC, KSC had 42 ground balls, to 40 from WCSU.
• WCSU really took advantage of their extra-man opportunities, as WCSU went 4-for-5, compared to KSC going 1-for-2.

 
Up Next


Keene State's next game will be their 2024 regular season finale, as they travel to take on UMass-Boston on Friday, April 26, at 7:00 PM, to decide where both teams will place in the LEC tournament. With a win, the Owls will clinch the No. 3 seed, while with a loss, the Owls would fall to the No. 4 seed.
Western Connecticut State's next contest will be at Southern Maine University on Friday, April 26, at 5:00 PM, as the Wolves will look to lock up the No. 1 seed in the conference.