KEENE, N.H. – Back at the Owl Athletic Complex for what is possibly the final time this season, the Keene State College women's lacrosse team overcame a slow start and scored 12 straight goals to defeat the University of Vermont State Castleton 17-6 on Wednesday night led by four goals apiece from
Anna Maccarini and
Hayden Smith.
Records
- Keene State: 7-9 (4-3 LEC)
- Castleton: 6-9 (2-5 LEC)
How it Happened
Castleton got on the board quick with a pair of goals 49 seconds apart to jump to a 2-0 lead 2:53 into the contest, but the Owls answered with
Tess Brown's first goal of the game 27 seconds later and followed it up with
Riley Devine scoring 25 seconds later to tie the game back up for the Owls. Both teams traded goals a few minutes later with Castleton taking the lead again before
Anna Maccarini tied the game up again 62 seconds later. 56 seconds later the Spartans took the lead once again but their timeout after their fourth goal of the game favored KSC because the Owls went on a 3-0 run the rest of the quarter, leading to a 12-0 run over the rest of the first, and entire second and third quarters combined. Devine assisted on
Hayden Smith's first goal of the game to tie the game back up with 3:31 remaining, before Smith assisted
Helen Baxter's goal to take the lead 16 seconds after
Lola Varricchione's draw control for the Owls. Just as she opened the scoring for KSC in the quarter, Brown ended the scoring for the Owls in the first with a goal with 1:07 left to put KSC ahead 6-4 heading into the second.
The Owls dominated on both sides of the ball in the second quarter as they outscored Castleton 7-0 over the 15 minutes of the quarter, while
Katelyn Nicotera made four saves in net and the Owls' defense caused seven turnovers. After ending the first quarter with possession, Maccarini opened the scoring for KSC in quarter two with a goal 14 seconds into it. KSC killed off a pair of green cards over the next few minutes as Nicotera made two saves in net while a player down before Varricchione doubled up Castleton with a goal, putting KSC up 8-4. KSC capitalized on Castleton's first card of the day, a yellow card locked in penalty allowing the Owls to score three goals over the two-minute span as Smith scored a pair of goals (with
Jenna Braga picking up her first assist on the second of the two) and Maccarini netted the third to put KSC ahead 11-4 with 6:08 remaining in the half. Later in the second quarter Castleton was called for another yellow card, resulting in two more man-up goals from KSC as Varricchione assisted Brown for a goal and then Varricchione scored herself, coming from Smith, as KSC took a 13-4 lead into the half.
Gracie Hurlbut made her third save of the day to open the action in the third quarter, but KSC found the back of the net shortly after as
Audriena Chipperini netted the first goal of her collegiate career to put KSC ahead 10 and started the running clock for the contest.
Mabelle Bessette entered the contest in goal for KSC at the beginning of the second half and made two saves on the two shots that she faced to hold Castleton off the board in the third, while Maccarini assisted Devine on another goal for KSC late in the third to take a 15-4 lead into the fourth quarter.
Castleton got on the board quick in the fourth quarter with a pair of goals to stop the running clock 3:38 into the quarter as they tried to mount a comeback. Bessette made her third and fourth saves of the quarter following the second goal from Castleton, but the Owls started the clock back up as they once again capitalized on another extra player opportunity as Maccarini assisted Smith on her third goal of the season with 6:42 remaining. As the clock continued to run the Owls found the back of the net one more time as Braga picked up her second assist of the day for her first career multi-point game, assisting Maccarini's fourth goal of the game to give the Owls the 17-6 victory.
Inside the Crease
- With the win, KSC improves to 23-1 in the all-time series between the two teams, having won the 11 most recent matchups.
- Maccarini and Smith both tallied game-highs of six points from game-highs of four goals, and game-highs of two assists in the victory for the Owls.
- Brown recorded a game-high 10 draw controls, while causing three turnovers to go with her three goals as she moves to 242 career points, eight away from becoming the fourth member in program history to reach the 250-career point mark.
- Varricchione and Smith both recorded a team-high four caused turnovers apiece.
- Both teams had 17 successful clears, while Castleton failed 10 clears and KSC failed seven clears.
- Nicotera made four saves over her 30 minutes of game time, while Bessette made seven saves in her second half action for KSC.
Up Next
Keene State rounds out their 2026 regular season on the road in their next contest as the Owls travel to take on Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, April 22, at 1:00 PM.
Castleton returns home for their Senior Day for their final 2026 game, also on Saturday, April 25, at 1:00 PM as the Spartans host Eastern Connecticut State University.
