KEENE, N.H. – Tess Brown finished with a game-high of seven points for the Keene State College women's lacrosse team in their season-opening 14-5 win over Rivier University to kick off their 2025 campaign.

Records

• Keene State: 1-0
• Rivier: 0-1

Postgame Interview (Coach Wyant)
Postgame Interview (Lola Varricchione)

How It Happened
Rivier jumped out ahead first with a goal form Bailey Carroll 50 seconds into the contest, but Tess Brown picked up where she left off in 2024, as she won the ensuing draw control and then tied the game up at one apiece 29 seconds later with Lola Varricchione picking up her first career collegiate point with an assist. Brown looked to add another goal early in the contest, but Rivier's goalkeeper, Kylie Coupal, saved a free position shot from her two minutes later. KSC took the lead with 7:09 remaining in the first as Varricchione scored her first career collegiate goal, coming from her senior teammate, Chase Gengras. KSC's goalkeeper Mabelle Bessette held the Raiders off the board the rest of the way in the quarter as she made three saves, including one on a Rivier man-up chance and another on a free position attempt as KSC took a 2-1 lead into the second quarter.
 
Both offenses excelled in the second quarter as the two teams combined to score eight goals with KSC scoring five to three from Rivier. KSC opened the quarter with three goals in a row in the first 6:02 to jump to a 5-1 lead. Two of the goals came in 51 seconds as Brown assisted Amethyst Phelps on the Owls' third goal, followed by Brown winning the ensuing draw control and picking up another assist on Gengras' goal to put KSC up by three. The third goal of the bunch came 1:50 later as Varricchione scored her second of the game on a free position attempt. Over the next 2:40, Rivier responded with three goals in a row for themselves with Sarah Lachance assisting the first two and scoring the third to bring the Raiders within a goal with 6:18 remaining. KSC tacked on a pair of goals in the final 2:18 of the half as Varricchione scored her third of the game and after Brown won the ensuing draw control, she scored her second of the game, this time from Hayden Smith to give KSC a 7-4 lead heading into the half.
 
Bessette opened the second half up with a save on a free position shot, leading to Anna Maccarini causing a turnover on a Rivier clear a few minutes later and Lola Smith scoring her first of the year and doubling Rivier up, 8-4, with 10:57 left in the quarter. Both goalkeepers made a save and Bessette saw a shot from Ashlynn Ledoux hit the post over the next three minutes, as Brown then assisted Lola Smith on her second consecutive goal with 7:22 remaining in the quarter. Coupal kept the Owls off the board the rest of the third with a pair of saves and KSC killed off a man-up opportunity for Rivier and the Owls took their 9-4 lead into the final quarter.
 
Phelps scored goal number two of the day 34 seconds into the fourth with a free position goal after Gengras won the opening draw control. With 12:13 remaining in the contest, KSC was given a yellow card and Phelps caused a turnover on the Raiders leading to Riley Devine scoring a man-down goal with a few second remaining on the card. Bessette made another save on a free position shot on the next opportunity from the Raiders, but she was unable to save the following one as Lachance scored a free position goal for Rivier with 8:52 remaining. KSC added another trio of goals in a row over a 2:30 span shortly after as Brown assisted Lola Smith on her third goal of the day and then Brown scored her third goal shortly after. For the third of the three goals, Gengras caused a turnover on Lachance that led to Hayden Smith scoring her first goal of the season with 4:35 left to play. The rest of the contest, Coupal made two more saves for Rivier as the Owls cruised to a 14-5 lead on the day.
 
Inside the Crease

• KSC improves to 1-0 in the first ever matchup between the two programs.
• Brown led the way with a game-high seven points from three goals and four assists.
• Brown also dominated on the defensive end as she recorded game-highs in each ground balls, with eight, and caused turnovers, with six.
• Varricchione excelled in her first collegiate game for the Owls with three goals and an assist on just five shots. 
• Varricchione and Gengras both tied for a team-high of four draw control wins as KSC went 14-for-23 (60.9%) on the draw controls on the day.
• Bessette made six saves in net for the Owls on the day for a 54.5 SV%, while Coupal made 10 saves for a 41.7 SV%.
• KSC went 3-for-6 (50%) on free position shots, while Rivier went 1-for-4 (25%).

 
Up Next

Keene State's next game will be right back at the Owls Athletic Complex on Thursday, February 27, at 4:00 PM as the Owls host Norwich University.
Rivier plays another Little East Conference opponent next as they travel to take on Vermont State University Castleton for their next matchup on Tuesday, March 4, at 6:00 PM.