Box Score

KEENE, N.H. – It only took 10 seconds for Pierpaolo Galardo to enter the contest to make a difference on Wednesday afternoon as he entered the contest in the 86th minute for the Keene State College men's soccer team and netted the game-winner for the 2-1 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Records

• Keene State: 4-0
• RPI: 1-1-2

Highlights
Postgame Interview (Coach Schmidt)
Postgame Interview (Pierpaolo Galardo)

How it Happened
KSC opened the contest on the attack immediately as they had a corner kick 1:34 in, resulting in Cristian Correa having a shot on goal shortly after, but he was denied by the Engineers' goalkeeper, Noah Churchill. Following the Owls' early attack, RPI answered right back by possessing the ball for the next 11 minutes on the offensive half. After their first three shots missed the target and following the second of a pair of corner kicks, Matt Schlotterback headed home the first goal of the game from Owen Schnur to put RPI up 1-0 early on. 4:03 was all it took for the Owls to answer right back as Dorian Wilczynski continued his three-game point streak with an assist as he sent a corner kick into the box where Jack DiGiovanni headed the ball off the bottom of the crossbar and just past the goal line for his first career collegiate goal to tie the game up at one apiece for KSC. Eldin Husanovic made his first save of the day for the Owls shortly after as he denied Schlotterback from scoring his second goal of the day 10 minutes after his first goal. Neither team had too clear of an opportunity the rest of the half as although RPI was on the attack more often over the final 12 minutes of the first, their four shots were off target as the game went into the half tied at one apiece.
 
Both teams traded possessions back-and-forth at the beginning of the second half with neither having a great scoring opportunity. In the 62nd minute RPI was on the offensive attack for a few good scoring opportunities as they had a pair of shots and three corner kicks as KSC kept clearing their corner attempts, but it did not amount to anything as they held off the Engineers' push for the moment. It was not until there was under 12 minutes remaining where the action really picked up. Following a pair of shots from KSC that went wide of the target, KSC continued their offensive push with less than five minutes remaining. With 4:17 remaining, Pierpaolo Galardo subbed in for KSC for the third time on the season and it did not take long at all for him to make an immediate impact. Following the substitution, Dylan Chambers launched a throw-in deep into the Engineers' defensive zone, but the defense immediately cleared it away. Fortunately for KSC, the ball came right back to Chambers, who sent an arching pass into the box leading Galardo towards the goal. Galardo connected with his left foot sending the ball past Churchill to put the Owls up 2-1, just 10 seconds after checking into the contest for his first career collegiate goal. The rest of the contest RPI was heavily on the attack as they tried to mount a late comeback to at least tie the contest up at two apiece, but the Owls were smart with their late possessions as they killed the rest of the clock to hold onto the 2-1 comeback victory.
 
Inside the Box

• KSC improves to 10-12-2 in the all-time series between the two teams, as the Owls pick up their first win over RPI since 2018 to snap their five-game losing streak to the Engineers where they were outscored 13-4.
• The Owls move to 4-0 to open the season for the first time since 2017, where they started 5-0 to kick off the year.
• RPI had the overall advantage on shots, 13-10, but the Owls were more efficient as they had a 3-2 shot on goal advantage.
• RPI more than doubled up KSC on corner kicks and fouls in the contest, 9-4 and 17-8, respectively.
• Husanovic allowed his first goal of the season after posting three clean sheets to open the year, but he picked up win number four on the season for the Owls.
• DiGiovanni and Galardo both tallied their first career goals of the contest for KSC as six different Owls have recorded a goal across the year. KSC has already almost reached the mark of nine different goal scorers from the 2024 season.

Up Next


Keene State hits the road for their next contest as they kick off Little East Conference play on Saturday, September 13, at 1:00 PM at Eastern Connecticut State University.
RPI is back at home for their next game as they host Oswego State on Saturday, September 13, at 4:00 PM.