KEENE, N.H. – Earlier in the season for the Keene State College men's lacrosse team, the Owls celebrated a one-goal victory over in-state rival Plymouth State University on Senior Day, but in the Little East Conference Championship quarterfinal matchup between the No. 5 Panthers, and the No. 4 Owls, PSU was celebrating early and often as they ended the Owls' season with a 17-6 victory over KSC.
Records
- Keene State: 9-7 (5-3 LEC)
- Plymouth State: 8-8 (3-5 LEC)
How it Happened
Andrew Wiegand saved the first shot that he faced in goal for KSC, but PSU netted their first two goals of the game, 58 seconds apart, to jump to a 2-0 lead 3:56 into the contest. A few minutes later PSU tacked on another two goals, 42 seconds apart to go up four before
Jack Ansart scored goal number 35 of the season for KSC to end the scoring run a minute and a half later. The rest of the opening quarter PSU added another goal to go up 5-1 heading into the second quarter.
Just as the first quarter, PSU outscored KSC 5-1 over the 15 minutes of the second quarter. The Panthers scored their first of the second 1:11 into the quarter, but following a pair of saves from each goalie, PSU added three more goals, 1:50 apart to go up 9-1. Following a plethora of penalties following a scrum after the Panthers' ninth goal, KSC had a man advantage and capitalized with a goal shortly after, resulting in
Cole Ricardi scoring his 14th goal of the season. With 3:59 remaining, PSU recorded their 10th goal of the day to take a 10-2 lead heading into halftime.
Both teams tallied a goal over the opening four minutes of the third quarter as Kevin Cougler scored first for the Panthers, but KSC answered back as
Nicholas McNulty assisted Ansart for the first goal of the second half for the Owls. PSU increased their lead to 10 with a pair of goals 53 seconds apart later in the quarter, but KSC responded right back with two more goals with Ricardi scoring his second of the game, followed by
Nick Sullivan assisting
Dylan Seymour with 6:13 left in the third. Cougler tallied his second goal of the quarter for PSU with 4:23 remaining, but after KSC killed off a penalty, Seymour caused a turnover resulting in
Ben Tukey assisting Ansart for his third of the game for KSC.
The Owls were unable to mount a comeback or find the back of the net in the final 15 minutes of action as PSU added three more goals and Ethan Schena made three saves over the fourth, bringing his total to 12 saves over the game, to help lead the Panthers to the 17-6 victory.
Inside the Crease
- With the loss, KSC falls to 26-8 in the all-time series to the Panthers.
- Ansart finished with team-highs in each goals and points, with his three goals.
- Owen Keely, Dylan Fadale, and Jack Ricci all tied for the game-high in ground balls with five apiece, while Fadale recorded a game-high of four caused turnovers, ending his time as an Owl with 80 caused turnovers, the third most in program history.
- Ty Cougler finished the season with 59 caused turnovers the most in a season by an Owl, shattering his previous single program record of 47 last year, while playing in just 14 games (one game with one minute before leaving due to injury), while also recording 93 ground balls, the seventh-most in a single season.
- Jack Ricci finished the season with 82 ground balls, the 12th most in a single season for the Owls, as he went 10-for-20 (50%) on faceoffs on the day.
Up Next
Keene State's season ends with a 9-7 record, the first time above .500 since their 9-7 season in 2023.
Plymouth State advances to the LEC semifinals against No. 1 Western Connecticut State University on Thursday, April 30.
