KEENE, N.H. – Tess Brown tallied six points for the Keene State College women's lacrosse team, as Mabelle Bessette making 11 saves in net and the Owls held on for an 11-9 win over Western New England University on Saturday afternoon.

Records

• Keene State: 3-1
• Western New England: 0-3

How it Happened


Mia Celentano opened the scoring in the first quarter for the Golden Bears with her first goal of the game, 1:28 into the game. Chase Gengras won the ensuing draw control for the Owls, and it led to Tess Brown scoring her 10th goal of the season 32 seconds later. Lola Varricchione won the following draw control for KSC and picked up an assist on Gengras' goal to put KSC 1:52 later. Varricchione tacked on a third goal for KSC a few minutes later after Bessette made a save in goal and Peyton Guntulis caused a turnover on defense for the Owls leading to the third goal of the day. WNE's goalkeeper, Emily Picolla, saved the next two shots from KSC but she couldn't save the third in a row as Varricchione put KSC up 4-1 with 4:33 remaining in the first. The rest of the opening quarter, Celentano added a pair of points from a goal and an assist as KSC took a 4-3 lead into the second quarter.
 
Brown scored her second goal of the game to open the scoring in the second quarter as she put KSC up 5-3 3:48 into the second. Bessette made three saves in net to open the quarter, including one free position shot saved as KSC tacked on two more goals as Lola Smith and Gengras added a goal each to increase their lead to 7-3 with 5:03 left in the opening half. WNE responded with a pair of goals shortly later as Abbey Francis and Celentano scored for the Golden Bears to cut the Owls' lead to two with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter. Both teams traded a goal the rest of the half as Brown scored her third goal of the day for KSC and the Owls took an 8-6 lead into the second half.
 
Bessette opened the second half with a save, which led to Riley Devine scoring her second goal of the season for the Owls shortly after, just 1:23 into the third. 50 seconds later, Gengras scored her third goal of the game to put KSC up 10-6. With 5:50 remaining in the quarter, after Guntulis caused another turnover on defense for the Owls, Brown tacked on her fourth goal of the game and third-straight goal of the quarter for KSC. Bessette made four saves in goal over the course of the third, including one on a free position attempt, to give KSC a 11-6 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
 
WNE entered the fourth quarter down by five and tried to mount a comeback after Mariella Biceglia scored her second goal of the year with 8:41 remaining to cut the Owls' lead to four. After Bessette made her second save of the quarter on the Golden Bears' next shot, Picolla did her part on the other end of the field to limit the Owls from increasing their lead. Late in the fourth, Celentano added two more goals for WNE, but in the end, their comeback fell short and KSC held on for a 11-9 lead over WNE.
 
Inside the Crease

• With the win, KSC improves to 3-6 in the all-time series between the two teams, having won the two most recent matchups.
• Varricchione continued to impress in her freshman season for the Owls as she tallied three points on the day from a pair of goals and an assist.
• Bessette finishes with 11 saves on 20 shots, while Picolla recorded nine saves on 20 shots faced.
• Celentano tied Brown for a game-high of six points as she tallied five goals and an assist.
• Guntulis led the Owls on the day with four caused turnovers.

 
Up Next


Keene State's next game will be on the road against the University of Hartford on Wednesday, March 12, at 5:00 PM.
WNE will next play in Puerto Rico on their Spring Break trip in the Division III Lacrosse Clásico against Montclair State University on Tuesday, March 11, at 8:00 AM EDT.