PLYMOUTH, N.H. – After a slow start in the first half with just two goals being scored for the Keene State College men's lacrosse team, they were unable to complete the comeback in the second half as they fell 11-8 to Plymouth State University.

Records

• Keene State: 7-7 (4-2 LEC)
• Plymouth State: 8-4 (4-2 LEC)

How it Happened


The Panthers dominated in the first quarter as they outscored the Owls 6-1 over the first 15 minutes of action. Each goalkeeper saved the first shot they faced in net, but then each team tallied a goal on their next shot as PSU took the lead and Jake Dubiel answered back for the Owls shortly after to tie the game with 9:18 remaining in the quarter. Over the next 5:08 of the first quarter, PSU scored five straight goals as Crosby Fay led the Panthers by scoring on three of their five. After allowing his first goal of the game, the Panthers' goalkeeper Ethan Schena saved the other two shots he faced in the quarter as PSU held a 6-1 lead over KSC heading into the second quarter.
 
Less than a minute into the second quarter the Panthers struck again as Aidan Renner scored the sixth goal of the game for PSU to jump to a 7-1 lead. The Owls' goalkeeper, Dylan Florian, saved the next five shots on goal over the next nearly nine minutes from the Panthers, but Brady Hunt was able to score his second goal of the game with 4:50 remaining in the opening half. Fay tallied one more goal for the Panthers in the quarter as it was PSU's eighth straight goal coming with 1:38 remaining in the half, but Dubiel scored one more goal for the Owls 18 second later to cut into the Panthers 9-2 lead heading into halftime.
 
Cameron Smith entered in goal for the Owls to start the second half and immediately saved the first shot he faced, although the next two shots from PSU were fired past hum as Joey Loeber and Aiden Renner both tallied a goal for the Panthers to take an 11-2 lead with 12:20 left in the third quarter. Both goalkeepers saved the next two shots they faced, but the Owls gained some momentum the rest of the quarter as they scored three straight goals to cut the Panthers' lead to 11-5. Rex Maccarini contributed to all three of KCS's goals in the third as he assisted on Sebastian Foresi's goal and scored one himself for the Owls. Following Jack Ansart causing a turnover on the Panthers, Maccarini assisted on Ben Tukey's man-up goal to end the scoring in the third and cut the Panthers' lead to six. KSC held off the Panthers the rest of the quarter and killed off a 30 second penalty as Hunter Tavares caused a turnover for the Owls on defense and PSU took their 11-5 lead into the final 15 minutes of action.
 
Schena saved the first three shots on goal from the Owls at the start of the fourth quarter, but Jaheim Lancaster was able to notch goal number six of the season for the Owls in the game with 10:17 remaining. Schena saved the next shot from KSC, but Adam Scala assisted Nicholas McNulty for the next shot on target to bring KSC within four with 6:43 remaining. Smith kept the Owls in the contest on the defensive side with a pair of saves and KSC capitalized on a man-up opportunity with Maccarini assisting Tukey for a man-up goal with 3:57 remaining in the contest. Despite the Owls scoring six consecutive goals across the final two quarters, their comeback came up short after a slow first half as KSC fell to 4-2 in Little East Conference play with the loss.
 
"It was a tale of two halves" said Owls' Head Coach Mark Theriault after the Owls were outscored 9-2 in the opening half, including 6-1 in the first quarter, while outscoring PSU 6-2 in the second half. "We didn't come to play in the first quarter."
 
Inside the Crease

• With the loss, KSC falls to 25-5 in the all-time series between the two teams having lost the two most recent meetings, despite winning the previous 25.
• In the most recent 27 contests between the two teams KSC has outscored PSU by 254 goals for an average margin of victory of 9.4 goals.
• Maccarini led the Owls with four points on the day with a goal and three assists. Maccarini is now five points away from 200 on his career as an Owl.
• Ansart, Tavares, and Cougler each caused a pair of turnovers on defense for the Owls on the day.
• The Owls had their worst faceoff day of the season in the contest as KSC went 3-for-20 (15%). The last time KSC was held to winning three or less faceoffs in a game was over nine years ago when KSC went 3-for-27 (11.1%) back on March 15, 2016 when KSC was defeated by Hamilton College, 12-11.
• Florian saved eight shots in his first 30 minutes of action for the Owls on 17 shots faced, while Smith saved five of his seven shots faced in his second half of action. Schena made 15 saves in goal on the contest on 23 shots faced for PSU.

 
Up Next


Keene State hits the road for their final road game of the 2025 regular season as the Owls travel to take on Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday, April 22, at 7:00 PM as KSC will look to end their four-game losing streak to the Wolves.
Plymouth State travels to take on the University of Southern Maine for their next contest on Tuesday, April 22, at 4:00 PM.