FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Keene State College women's lacrosse team improved to 6-1 to start their 2025 season on Wednesday night as the Owls' 14-6 win over Fitchburg State University gave KSC their best start to open a year since the 2003 season (started 7-1).

Records

• Keene State: 6-1 (1-0 LEC)
• Fitchburg State: 0-6 (0-0 MASCAC)

How it Happened


KSC jumped to an early lead, as they scored just 22 seconds after Tess Brown won the opening draw control as the Owls' freshmen duo connected once again with Lola Varricchione assisting Anna Maccarini to put KSC up one. Chase Gengras picked up where she left off in the last contest with a career-high seven goals as she scored her first goal of the game, coming from Brown, to put the Owls up 2-0 with 9:12 remaining in the first. The Owls tacked on one more goal with 21 seconds remaining in the quarter as Lola Smith put KSC up by three as FSU was held without a shot on goal in the first 15 minutes of play.
 
Brown opened the scoring for the Owls to increase the lead to four with a free position goal, 3:41 into the second quarter. With 7:32 remaining in the half, FSU got on the board for the first time with a man-up goal, but KSC responded right back with a pair of goals over the next three and a half minutes. Riley Devine picked up her first assist for the Owls on the first of the two goals, which resulted in Gengras' second goal of the game. While after Brown caused another turnover shortly after, KSC increased their lead to five as Hayden Smith assisted Maccarini's second goal of the game. After FSU tallied their second goal of the contest with 2:41 left in the first, 30 seconds after Brown won the ensuing draw control, KSC once again answered right back as Gengras completed the first half hat trick. Just as the Owls responded with a pair of goals after the Falcons' first goal, they did the same after the second, with a Brown caused turnover leading to Lola Smith tacking on one more goal to give KSC an 8-2 lead heading into the half.
 
KSC scored three goals to open the third quarter over the opening 4:03 of the quarter to make it five consecutive goals for the Owls. Gengras assisted Hayden Smith for the first of the three and Maccarini scored her third of the game shortly after, while following yet another turnover caused by Brown, Varricchione rounded out the three goals with a free position goal for KSC. After entering in goal for the Owls at halftime, Katelyn Nicotera saved two of the three shots that she saw in net over her third quarter played. FSU tacked on one goal in the quarter as Kiley McFadden scored a man-up goal to cut the Owls' lead to 11-3 heading into the final 15 minutes of action.
 
FSU opened the scoring in the final quarter, but after the Falcons won the ensuing faceoff, Brown caused another turnover, which resulted in a goal for the Owls on their ensuing possession for the fourth time in the game, with Brown scoring herself this time. FSU won the next draw control, but Gengras caused a turnover, collected the ground ball, and scored her fourth of the game 21 seconds after Brown's goal. The Lolas connected on the last goal of the contest for the Owls, as Lola Smith assisted Varricchione to put KSC up 14-4 with 8:34 remaining in the contest. Abby Tanner made her first career collegiate save shortly after for Varricchione's goal after entering the net to open the final quarter for the Owls. The rest of the contest, FSU tacked on two more goals and Carlie Jamieson caused a turnover on the Falcons' last possession as KSC cruised to a 14-6 victory.
 
"We wrapped the first part of the of the season up well. We're now hitting our bye week, looking to get some much-deserved rest" said Owls' head coach Travis Wyant. "The team talked a lot about playing with patience and they did a good job of exhibiting that. They walked the walk today!"
 
Inside the Crease

• With the win, KSC improves to 4-0 in the all-time series between the two teams.
• After recording seven goals last game, Gengras recorded four points in the victory with three goals and an assist.
• Four Owls recorded three points in the contest, with Lola Smith, Varricchione, and Brown recording a pair of goals and an assist, while Maccarini recorded a career-high three goals, having entered the game with four goals over her first six career collegiate contests for the Owls.
• Brown tied for the game-high of five draw controls won, while also tallying game-highs in each caused turnovers and ground balls with six for each category.
• KSC went 17-for-19 (89.5%) on clears, while FSU went 16-for-22 (72.3%).

 
Up Next


Keene State has the weekend off and returns to action back at home on Wednesday, March 26, at 6:00 PM against Framingham State University as the Owls look to pick up the first win in program history against the Rams after being down 0-2 in the all-time series.
Fitchburg State returns to action on Saturday, March 22, at 12:00 PM as the Falcons travel to Suffolk University.