KEENE, N.H. – Nearing the end of the season in must win matchups in Little East Conference play the Keene State College men's soccer team hosted Western Connecticut State University, hoping to hand the Wolves their first LEC loss since 2024, but after the Wolves netted a pair of goals 11 minutes apart in the second half the Owls were unable to complete the comeback, eventually falling 2-1.
Records
- Keene State: 3-10-3 (1-4-2 LEC)
- Western Connecticut: 12-3-5 (7-0-1 LEC)
How it Happened
Edoardo Tambini looked to pick up where he left off with the game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining in the Owls' last contest by opening the scoring with a clear shot on frame in the eighth minute, but Aime Ruggles made the save in net for the Wolves. Ruggles added another save 16 minutes later in what wound up being the final shot on goal in the opening half for the Owls, denying
Adrian Bueno. The Wolves started to find their groove on the attack by recording four shots over a six-minute span, but only one was on target, which
Tommaso Lorrai saved for KSC. In the closing six minutes of the opening half the Owls took three more shots, but none reached Ruggles as the teams headed into the half tied at 0-0.
WestConn struck early in the second half as a penalty in the Owls' box was called on
Pietro Bergozza and Bamfa Fofana converted the attempt to put the Wolves ahead one, just 1:27 into the half. KSC's defense held strong, blocking three of the next four shots from the Wolves over the next nine minutes, but after Lorrai made the initial save on Juan Gomez Herrera, the rebound fell right to Demani Gordon who put the Wolves ahead a pair with 32:06 remaining. Both goalkeepers made a save in net over the next four minutes, before the Owls found the back of the goal, just as the Wolves did to open the contest. Anthony Reyes was called for a foul in WestConn's box, leading to Bueno converting the attempt to pull the Owls within a goal with 20:16 remaining. The Wolves tried to increase their lead back to a pair shortly after, but Lorrai made a save and the Wolves had another shot ring off the crossbar, limiting the lead for the moment. On the other end of the field soon after WestConn hit the crossbar, KSC got off four shots and after Ruggles saved one shot,
Luke Belisle's header hit the crossbar and the ball stayed out, preventing the Owls from pulling even with under eight minutes remaining. The rest of the way the Owls were unable to get another clean look as the Wolves killed off a majority of the rest of the clock as WestConn held on in the end for the 2-1 win.
Inside the Box
- KSC falls to 19-14-3 in the all-time series, going 0-8-1 in the nine most recent matchups.
- In the must win game, seven Owls played a full 90 minutes with Martin Lubunga, Belisle, Bergozza, Dorian Wilczynski, Javi Simms, Jude Keener, and Lorrai all playing the entire game.
- KSC was called offside five times, compared to just one from the Wolves, preventing the Owls from multiple goal scoring opportunities.
- Bueno recorded all three of his shots on target, accounting for 60% of KSC's five shots on goal on the day.
- Both goalkeepers made four saves in net on the day.
- WestConn had the edge on shots, 16-15 and on shots on goal, 6-5, while both teams had three corner kicks apiece.
Up Next
Keene State needs some help to make the LEC tournament, but if the Owls cannot win their next contest on the road at the University of Vermont State Castleton on Wednesday, October 28, at 7:00 PM, the other results will not matter.
Western Connecticut wraps up their LEC season going undefeated again as the regular season champions and awaits the rest of the conference in the semifinal round as the No. 1 seed for their next contest.
