WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Keene State College women's lacrosse team's attack continued to tally a handful of points as Tess Brown recorded seven and Chase Gengras, along with Hayden and Lola Smith combined for eight points as the trio returned to their hometown and helped the Owls take down the University of Hartford, 13-10.

Records

• Keene State: 4-1
• Hartford: 2-3

How it Happened

KSC was on the attack early as the Owls tallied a pair of goals in the opening 3:16 of the contest, with Brown assisting Hayden Smith with the opening goal and then scoring the second goal herself for KSC. The Hawks scored on their first shot of the day to cut the lead in half, just 22 seconds later, but the Owls' goalkeeper, Mabelle Bessette saved the next two shots from Hartford over the next minute. After Brianna Hodgman caused a turnover and Payton Guntulis collected the ground ball for the Owls, it resulted in Brown scoring her second of the game with 6:35 left in the first to put KSC up 3-1. Following Bessette saved the next two shots from the Hawks (one being a free position shot), and Hartford killed off a pair of green cards, they scored a pair of goals in the final 1:14 of the quarter to even the game out at three heading into the second quarter.
 
KSC opened the second quarter by killing off a green card and with Bessette saving a free position shot, leading to Lola Varricchione assisting Chase Gengras on her first goal of the game as Gengras returned to her hometown of West Hartford, to put KSC back ahead 1:30 into the quarter. 41 seconds later Hartford evened the game back up with a free position goal from Madison Olmstead's third goal of the game, but the tied game did not last long as KSC scored 1:10 after to retake the lead. The Owls capitalized on a yellow card to retake the lead as Hayden Smith picked up the first point for the Smith sisters on the day with an assist to Gengras for a man-up goal to take a 5-4 lead. A minute and a half later, KSC scored their first of three more goals in a row to increase their lead to 8-4 over the Hawks. Anna Maccarini tallied her second goal of her freshman season, followed by Lola Smith winning the draw and Brown netting the third of the game shortly after. Varricchione won the ensuing draw control for the Owls as just 50 seconds after Brown's goal, she assisted Lola Smith to double up the Hawks. Hartford tried their best to try to cut into the Owls lead heading into the half, but Bessette limited the Hawks as she saved the next three shots over the next five and a half minutes. In the final 1:43 of the half, Talei Ricketson was able to sneak two shots into the back of the net for the Hawks, with one being a man-up goal, as Hartford cut the Owls lead to 8-6 heading into the second half.
 
KSC started the second half off strong on both ends of the field as Hodgman caused a turnover on defense for KSC leading to Brown scoring her fourth goal of the game 2:34 into the half on a free position shot. On the ensuing possession for the Hawks, KSC's defense held strong again as Riley Devine caused a turnover leading to KSC jumping to a 10-6 lead. After Bessette made a save in net shortly after, the Hawks fired a shot past her for the only goal they wound up scoring in the quarter as she saved the other two shots she faced the rest of the third. Hartford's goalie, Mandi Rivard, saved her first shot of the contest on a free position shot with 6:55 remaining as the Hawks looked to gain momentum to try to mount a comeback down by three. Although the rest of the quarter was all KSC as Lola Smith tallied a pair of goals, with one being a man-up goal from Maccarini, and Guntulis and Brown caused turnovers on Hartford late in the third as KSC took a 12-7 lead into the final 15 minutes of play.
 
Both goalies held strong to start the fourth quarter as Rivard made four saves to two from Bessette as neither team tallied a goal until there was 2:58 remaining in regulation. Laurel McIntosh scored her third goal of the game for the Hawks to cut the Owls' lead to four, but the Smith sisters answered right back for KSC, as 1:02 later, following Lola Smith causing a turnover, Hayden Smith scored her third goal of the season. In the final 1:12 of the game, the Hawks' comeback attempt fell short as they scored two more goals, but it was not enough as the Owls held on for the 13-10 lead on the day.
 
"Honestly was another game where we are figuring out new ways to win" said Owls' head coach Travis Wyant. "Defensively we are consistently shutting down some of the best attackers we will see all season, while also adjusting our gameplan throughout the game. Our offense is clicking and adapting, that really showed today. Hartford is strong and only getting stronger, so really impressed with our poise and competitiveness today."
 
Inside the Crease

• With the win, KSC improved to 3-0 in the all-time series between the two teams, with the Owls outscoring the Hawks 49-33.
• Brown continues her tear to start the season as she has 27 points over the five games for an average of 5.4 points per game from averages of 3.2 goals and 2.2 assists per game.
• Five other Owls tallied a point in the contest, with four of them recording a multi-point game. Varricchione recorded one assist, while Maccarini recorded each assist goal and an assist. 
• The three Owls that returned to their hometown of West Hartford combined for eight points, with Gengras scoring a pair of goals, while the Smiths each tallied three points with Lola scoring three goals and Hayden scoring a pair of goals and an assist.
• Bessette continues her great start to the season as she improves to 4-0 by making 13 saves for a season-high .565 SV% and to increase her season SV% to .507.
• Both teams went 1-for-4 on free position attempts in the contest, with Brown and Olmstead scoring the goals for their respective teams.

 
Up Next


Keene State's next game will be back at home for the first matchup against the second year University of Massachusetts-Boston program on Saturday, March 15, at 1:00 PM.
Hartford travels to Atlanta, Georgia for their next game, as they take on Oglethorpe University on Monday, March 17, at 6:00 PM.