KEENE, N.H. – All the stars aligned for the Keene State College women's soccer team on Wednesday night under the lights against Worcester State University as the Owls' strong defense anchored by Michaela DiCiccio's first career collegiate shutout in goal combined with four different goalscorers led KSC to a 4-0 victory over the Lancers.
Records
- Keene State: 2-3-1 (0-1-0 LEC)
- Worcester State: 0-4-1 (0-0-1 MASCAC)
How it Happened
Both teams traded shots back-and-forth early in the contest, but despite WSU having the slight edge 5-3 on shots over the opening minute, each team only had one shot on goal, which the opposing goalkeeper saved. The Owls would have had more shots over the opening 20 minutes, but KSC had multiple opportunities with a player open, but their passes kept going just out of reach, where Ella Gumienny would come and collect the ball for the Lancers to keep the contest scoreless early on. After the Lancers were unable to capitalize on their two corner kick opportunities over the next 10 minutes, KSC closed out the rest of the opening half by making the most of pair of corner kick opportunities on the other end of the field.
Kylie Rapoza was denied a scoring chance from Gumienny, which resulted in the first of the Owls' two corners, and after the second corner kick,
Paige Smith sent a rocket off a rebound from the edge of the Lancers' box and into the top right corner of the net for her first career goal with 4:03 remaining in the first half. Smith's goal not only put the Owls ahead 1-0 with heading into the half, but her first goal came in at No. 6 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays on ESPN on Wednesday night.
The Lancers looked to tie the game up with a chance from Madeleine Jackson at the 50:51 mark, but her shot that went up and over DiCiccio in goal for the Owls rang off the crossbar and stayed out. KSC flipped the field quickly as just 60 seconds later,
Elizabeth Tschudin sent a pass across the Lancers' box to
Keely Giordano, who buried a shot past Gumienny to put KSC up 2-0 on her first goal of the season for the Owls. Giordano continued to apply the pressure on for the Owls' attack in the following minutes and after she had another clear breakaway opportunity, the Lancers' defense had enough as Julianne Earnest took down Giordano from behind and she received a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity on a breakaway, leaving WSU with 10 players the remaining 25:36 of the contest. The Owls' defense continued to hold strong, anchored by DiCiccio as she made another pair of saves in net over the next 15 minutes. Once again, in the 68th minute, the Owls flipped the field quick after a save by DiCiccio,
Emily O'Connell and the reigning Little East Conference Rookie of the Week,
Hailey Goldman, both picked up their first assists of the season (and Goldman's first of her collegiate career) as their passed set up Tschudin in the Lancer's box, where she easily buried her third goal across the past four games to put KSC up 3-0 with 22:40 remaining. KSC wasn't quite finished yet as 4:05 later the Owls found the back of the net for the fourth time as
Bryn Dickinson sent a pass from the Owls' defensive half out ahead to
Kaylee Cormier and after a few touches, she sent a high shot on net from the edge of the Lancers' box. It looked that Gumienny would make the save initially as she was able to get a hand on it, but Cormier's shot was too strong, and it went through her hands and into the back of the net for the Owls' fourth goal of the day. The remainder of the contest the Lancers tried to tally their second goal of the season but the Owls' defense continued to hold strong by maintaining the shutout the rest of the way with DiCiccio making three more saves down the stretch to secure her first collegiate shutout and the Owls' 4-0 victory.
Inside the Box
- KSC improves to 19-5-5 in the all-time series between the two teams with KSC going 2-0-2 in the four most recent matchups, posting four shutouts and outscoring the Lancers 5-0.
- The Owls' 4-0 win is tied for the largest win by either team in the all-time series, tying KSC's 4-0 win over WSU back on October 6, 2005.
- Playing a full 90 minutes for the second consecutive game, DiCiccio tied her season-high of six saves in her first collegiate shutout in net for the Owls in the victory.
- Tschudin led the way for the Owls with three points in the contest from her goal and assist, bringing her season total to seven points as she has three goals and an assist over KSC's four most recent games.
- Three other Owls recorded an assist in the contest, with Goldman logging the first of her collegiate career, while O'Connell and Dickinson each tallied their first points on the year.
- Despite the Owls' 4-0 victory, WSU had the advantage on shots, 17-13, while the two teams tied with six shots on goal apiece, and KSC had the slight edge on corner kicks, 6-5.
Up Next
Keene State returns to Little East Conference play at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Saturday, September 19, at 2:30 PM for their next contest.
Worcester State returns to MASCAC action in their next contest as they travel to take on Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Saturday, September 19, at 12:00 PM.
