DANBURY, Conn. – The Keene State College women's soccer team had a Halloween to remember on Saturday night down at Western Connecticut State University as the Owls avenged their 4-0 loss to the Wolves just a week ago with a 2-0 victory to defeat WestConn and move on to the Little East Conference semifinals.
Records
- No. 6 Keene State: 7-7-4 (3-3-2 LEC)
- No 3. WestConn: 6-5-7 (4-1-3 LEC)
How it Happened
WestConn applied the pressure early in the contest as Owls' starting goalkeeper
Michaela DiCicco made a pair of saves in the first five minutes of the opening half. On the other side of the field over the next four minutes Gracen Regan had to do the same for the Wolves as she made a pair of saves, denying
Bryn Dickinson and
Keely Giordano the scoring chances. Both teams continued to trade shots on frame as DiCicco made a shot form Abby Corcoran in the 15th minute and a few minutes later Regan made another two saves, both coming on the Owls' leading goalscorer,
Elizabeth Tschudin. Later in the opening half after the goalies traded saves yet again, it looked like the contest would head into the half tied at one apiece, but the Owls broke through and scored to take the lead heading into the halftime break. With 1:24 remaining in the first half
Emily O'Connell dribbled through midfield and sent a pass out ahead to
Kayla DiPasquale, who faked out the WestConn defender and sent a perfectly placed shot over Regan and into the top right corner of the goal to put KSC ahead.
KSC continued their momentum into the second half as Giordano broke free past the Wolves defense and drew a penalty in the box after being pushed from behind from the WestConn defender.
Elise Saab stepped up for the Owls to take the ensuing penalty kick, and she sent her shot past a diving, Regan to put KSC ahead a pair with 37:40 left in regulation. Over the following 15 minutes KSC tried to add another insurance goal but Regan bounced back and saved a pair of shots, coming from Tschudin and Cormier, while DiCicco made another save to keep the Wolves off the board. Keene State cruised the last 20 minutes of the match, not even allowing the Wolves to get a shot off over the last 22:30 of the game. In the final 11:23 of the contest WestConn was forced to play a player down as Noelle Haase was given a red card for throwing a punch at DiPasquale after the two were both going after a loose ball, which was the final nail in the coffin as the Owls held strong the rest of the way for the 2-0 victory.
"The girls just showed up tonight, they played unbelievable," said Owls' head coach Sarah Testo. "It's a really tough place to win but they believed in each other and got the job done. I am really proud of their performance."
Inside the Box
- KSC improves to 14-24-6 in the all-time series, winning at WestConn for the first time since 2014, when KSC defeated WestConn 3-2 in penalty kicks to advance to the LEC title game.
- DiPasquale picked the perfect time of the season to net her second goal of her sophomore year, while Saab's penalty kick goal was her first goal of the season and second goal of her collegiate career.
- DiCicco held strong in goal for the Owls as she posted her sixth shutout in goal for KSC while making five saves in her sixth victory of her freshman season.
- KSC's backline continued to hold strong as all four starters played a full 90 minutes with Bryn Dickinson, Saab, Jada Lucas, and Paige Smith anchored the Owls defense.
- O'Connell recorded a point in the second consecutive game with her assist after scoring the Owls' season-saving win on Wednesday, which secured KSC's playoff spot.
- KSC had the edge on shots, 13-9, shots on goal, 10-5, and corner kicks, 5-4.
Up Next
No. 6 Keene State heads to the No. 3 University of Massachusetts-Boston for the LEC semifinals on Wednesday, November 4, at 7:00 PM.
