KEENE, N.H. — The Keene State College women's lacrosse team returned home for their final regular season home game of 2024 as they hosted the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on Wednesday night. The Owls cruised by the Corsairs in the contest, in which
Haile Ratajack tallied nine points, the Smith sisters combined for 10 points, and
Tess Brown recorded her 100th career point in KSC's 19-8 Little East Conference win.
Records
- Keene State: 10-5 (4-2 LEC)
- UMass-Dartmouth: 9-6 (2-4 LEC)
Postgame Interview (Coach Wyant)
Postgame Interview (Haile Ratajack)
How it Happened
The Owls got off to a great start through the first 15 minutes of play, as they outscored the Corsairs, 7-0 in the first quarter. The first goal came just 24 seconds into play, as
Hannah Dworkin assisted
Chase Gengras on the first goal for KSC. In a season full of milestones for numerous Owls, Brown picked up her 100th career point on KSC's next goal, as she picked up the point assisting Ratajack on her first goal of the game. A few minutes after Brown won her third consecutive draw control to open the game, she picked up an assist to Ratajack, again, to put KSC up 3-0, with 9:58 remaining in the quarter. The Smith sisters accounted for the next KSC goal, as following Hayden assisted Lola for the Owls' fourth goal of the day. KSC's fifth years, Ratajack and
Mindy St. Marie, rounded out the scoring for the Owls in the quarter, as Ratajack scored the fifth KSC goal, from Dworkin. The sixth goal came because of Ratajack causing a turnover, which resulted in St. Marie scoring shortly after. Ratajack scored her fourth of the game with 2:26 remaining in the quarter, which came from Dworkin to increase their lead heading into the second quarter. Owls' goalkeeper,
Mabelle Bessette made a pair of saves in net in the opening quarter, which helped KSC shut out the Corsairs in the opening quarter.
UMD got on the board for their first goal to open the scoring in the second, just 1:17 into it, as Melanny Sanchez Alvarez scored for the Corsairs. Both teams traded goals over the next 3:43, as St. Marie scored another goal for KSC, and Maddy Allen answered back with a goal for the Corsairs, 32 seconds later, after winning the ensuing draw control. Over the next 49 seconds KSC tallied another pair of goals, with both Smith sisters picking up assists, as
Hayden Smith picked up an assist on another Ratajack goal and
Lola Smith assisted
Annaliese Rudberg on KSC's tenth goal of the game. Sanchez Alvarez brought the Corsairs back within seven with a goal with 2:38 remaining in the half, after causing a turnover from Bessette on an Owl clear attempt, but just as KSC did after Allen's goal, they responded with a pair of goals of their own. The first of the two came after
Lola Smith caused a turnover, and she then picked up an assist on another goal from Rudberg, her second straight goal for KSC. The final goal of the first half came from the same Owls who scored the opening goal of the half, as Gengras scored her second goal, which came from Ratajack, to give KSC a 12-3 lead heading into the second half.
KSC opened the scoring in the second half with three consecutive goals, as St. Marie assisted
Lola Smith for the first, Dworkin assisted Ratajack for the second, and Ratajack assisted
Hayden Smith for the third (after
Lola Smith caused a turnover for KCS), as the Owls jumped ahead, 15-3, 5:05 into the quarter. Allen went on to score the only goal for the Corsairs shortly after, to pull within 11, but KSC went on to score two more goals in the third. After
Lola Smith caused another turnover on the Corsairs, this time on a clear attempt, she assisted Gengras on her third goal of the game, and shortly after, Gengras scored again to put KSC up 17-4 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
The Corsairs scored four goals to start the scoring in the final quarter, as Allen scored a free position goal, Widline Thomas tallied the second goal and assisted Lily Nees for the third, and Sanchez Alvarez scored the fourth to make the score 17-8 for KSC. After entering the crease for KSC to start the fourth quarter,
Kara Moriarty was able to make a save on a shot from Sanchez Alverez with 3:31 remaining, and then following a caused turnover on defense from Brown, Brown scored a goal on the other end of the field, with
Lola Smith picking up the assist with 2:36 remaining. Ratajack wound up winning the ensuing draw control and scoring her seventh goal of the game, this time from
Hayden Smith, for the final goal of the game, as KSC scored their final goal, of which 16 were assisted on, for the 19-8 victory on the day.
Inside the Crease
- With the win, the Owls improve to 23-5 in the all-time series between the two schools, as they have now won 22 straight against the Corsairs.
- With her season-high of nine points on the day, coming from a season-high of seven goals (on only seven shots) and two assists, Ratajack now sits at 278 career points (227 goals, 51 assists), which is third place in program history. She is now seven points away from passing Michelle Mason (202 goals, 82 assists), to move into second place in program history.
- Brown accumulated her 100th point in the Owls' victory, with her assist in the first quarter. She now sits at 102 career points, form 70 goals and 32 assists in only her first two years as an Owl.
- Hannah Dworkin finished the day with four assists; she now sits at 97 career assists, which is the third most in program history. With seven more assists, Dworkin would move into second place in program history for assists for an Owl.
- The Smith sisters combined for 10 points, coming from three goals and seven assists, as Lola Smith recorded a pair of goals and four assists, while Hayden Smith recorded one goal and three assists. This is the tenth game where Hayden Smith has scored on every shot attempt she has taken, as she has 14 goals on 16 shot attempts in her freshman season.
Up Next
Keene State travels to Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday, April 27, at 1:00 PM, for their 2024 regular season finale. The Owls have already clinched a top-four seed in the LEC tournament but based on how the game against the Warriors plays out, KSC can place anywhere from the No. 2 seed to No. 4 seed in the tournament.
The Corsairs next play at home for their senior day against Plymouth State University on Friday, April 26, at 6:00 PM.
