KEENE, N.H. – 36 seconds is all it took for Luke Belisle to score his first goal of the season for the Keene State College men's soccer team to take the early lead on senior day against Rhode Island College. The Owls jumped ahead 3-1 and held off a late push in the closing seconds from the Anchormen as KSC picked up their first Little East Conference win of the 2025 season with the 3-2 victory.

Records

• Keene State: 7-4-2 (1-3-1 LEC)
• Rhode Island College: 1-6-5 (0-2-2 LEC)

How it Happened


KSC took the lead only 36 seconds into the contest as Dylan Chambers sent a throw in deep into the Anchormen's box, leading to Luke Belisle burying his first goal of the season for the Owls after getting a good piece of the loose ball in the box. RIC tried to answer right back as they were on the attack over the next 12 minutes. To go with their pair of corner kicks, only one of their four shots reached the target, but the Owls' senior goalkeeper, Eldin Husanovic, made the save, to go with cutting off a few crossing passes over the same time span. A few minutes later, it looked that the Owls would tack on another goal as RIC's goalkeeper Shane Merklein saved the first shot from Dorian Wilczynski, but Luke Hartshorn's rebound that was kicked into the back of the net was ruled offside as the goal was waved off. KSC tried to find the second goal they thought they previously had over the next 10 minutes with two more shots that Merklein saved, but RIC responded right back with the Owls defense not being to clear the ball from a corner, leading to Kody Poplaski tying the game with just under 20 minutes remaining in the half. The game did not stay tied for too long though, as less than nine minutes after subbing into the contest shortly after Poplaski's goal, Martin Lubunga redirected the kick from Pierpaolo Galardo to put the Owls back ahead 2-1 with 8:03 remaining in the half. KSC held off the Anchormen's late push in the opening half as RIC saw three shots miss the target and Husanovic made his second save of the half to preserve the Owls' lead heading into the half.
 
Both teams traded possessions back and forth to open the second half, but it was not until Jason Liang's shot for RIC was saved in net for Husanovic in the 70th minute that either team had a shot on target. Just a few minutes later in the 74th minute, Lubunga and Belisle each added more points as Lubunga sent a pass across the Anchormen's box, finding Belisle open for the clean shot that rang off the left post and trickled into the back of the net for KSC's third goal of the day. Less than five minutes later, RIC responded back as following a save by Husanovic, Jacob Holland poked the loose ball into the back of the net to cut the Owls' lead to one. Following a scuffle after the goal, a player from each team was given a red card as both teams wound up playing the remaining 11:44 with ten apiece. With 3:53 remaining, Nicholas Henao Vasquez tried to net an insurance goal for the Owls, but Merklein made his fourth save of the game. In the final minute of the contest the Anchormen continued their attack to try to draw even, but following another Husanovic save, the final shot from RIC missed the target following a corner kick in the final seconds as the Owls held on for the 3-2 win.
 
Inside the Box

• KSC improves to 25-8-2 in the all-time series between the two teams as the Owls snapped their four-game losing streak to the Anchormen, where RIC had shut the Owls out and outscored KSC 9-0 over the four-game streak.
• RIC had the slight shot advantage on the day, 20-17, while both teams had seven shots on goal and five corner kicks apiece.
• Belisle doubled his 2024 goal total as he tallied his first and second goals of the season, coming on just two shot attempts, after tallying just one goal in his 14 games in his first year as an Owl last year.
• The Owls' balanced attack continues to show on the 2025 season as Belisle became the 12th Owl to record a goal this season, besting the nine different scorers from 2024.
• Lubunga tallied his third goal of the season in the win, the second most on the team, and passing his previous high of two goals across 14 games in his first season as an Owl in 2024.
• Husanovic finished the day with five saves on his senior day as he held strong in net for KSC.
• With the win, KSC moves to a three-way tie for fifth place in the LEC standings with four points apiece alongside Plymouth State University and the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Up Next


Keene State has a week off before their next contest as the Owls will next travel to take on No. 1 Williams College on Saturday, October 18, at 12:00 PM.
Rhode Island College returns home for their first of two home games on the week as the Anchormen host Thomas College on Wednesday, October 15, at 4:00 PM.