DARTMOUTH, Mass. - A strong offensive effort powered Keene State College to a 16-9 victory over UMass Dartmouth in Little East Conference action on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Owls improve to 6-10 with a 3-3 conference mark, while the Corsairs slip to 7-7 and 1-5 in the LEC.
The Corsairs opened the game's scoring as rookie midfielder
Maddie Wright tallied back-to-back goals in the opening three minutes. Keene State came charging back as goals from Tess Brown, Haile Ratajack and Mindy St. Marie pushed the visitors into the 3-2 lead. A score from junior attack
Natalia Agrelo, coupled by a goal from junior middie
Melanny Sanchez Alvarez quickly made it a 4-3 margin for the home team. Both goals saw Wright with the assist.
Despite the momentum, the Corsairs were unable to hold the lead as Chase Gengras and Ratajack each scored to close out the first quarter with Keene State up 5-4.
Into the second quarter, three straight goals by the Owls opened the visitors' margin to 8-4. Wright dropped another goal in at 5:48 to cut the lead to three, but another St. Marie goal in the final minute of the frame saw the Owls head into the intermission with a 9-5 lead.Â
Third quarter action saw five straight goals for Keene State, two coming off the stick of Ratajack, as the visitors headed into the fourth quarter with a 14-5 lead. Sanchez Alvarez recorded two goals in the fourth frame, including her 50th of the season, while Wright added the final goal of the game - her 80th of the season - at the 51 second mark.
Keene State saw Ratajack record a game-high four goals with six ground balls, three caused turnovers and two draw controls. Lola Smith added a game-best four goals, while St. Marie had two goals and two assists with seven ground balls, four caused turnovers and four draw controls. Hannah Dworkin posted a goal with four assists, while Brown had two goals and an assist with four ground balls, five caused turnovers and four draw controls. In goal, Moriarty earned the win with three saves.
For the Corsairs, Wright posted a game-best six points on a game-high four goals with two assists. She added two ground balls and two caused turnovers with a game-best seven draw controls. Sanchez Alvarez added three goals and an assist with three ground balls, four caused turnovers and a game-high seven draws, while Agrelo dropped in two goals. In goal, senior Payteon Conceicao recorded nine stops.
The Corsairs return to action on Saturday, closing out the regular season with a 12pm LEC contest at Castleton.
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