After a difficult 12-11 loss to Hamilton College at the start of its Florida road trip, the Keene State College men’s lacrosse team rebounded in historical fashion. Senior attack Tyler McKelvie became KSC’s all-time leader in goals scored, lighting up Northeast Regional Park in a 14-10 victory over Nichols College.
The contest began with the Owls taking a 4-1 lead thanks to McKelvie scoring the first goal of the day with help from a hat trick by junior attack Tyler Reilly. The Bison countered with a single goal from senior attack Anthony Verville but was quickly matched by another first half goal from McKelvie.
The Bison would attempt to rally once again in the second quarter with goals from junior midfielder Tyler Sikich and sophomore midfielder Jack Zaremski to narrow the deficit to just one goal at a score of 6-5.
Contributed Photo / J.J. Downey
KSC junior attack Rob Hart then responded with a goal toward the end of the second quarter before setting up McKelvie for a goal that would tie Griffin Mehan’s (2008-2011) all-time goal record at 169.
With the score at 8-5 in the third quarter, junior attack Brian Rotatori, Hart and sophomore attack Frank Bacarella each scored a goal apiece to increase the lead. The Bison then responded with goals from Verville, junior midfielder Paul Tessier and first-year midfielder Brayden Carroll to cut the game to a score of 11-8.
In the fourth, Hart dished out another assist to Rotatori, before McKelvie scored on the assist from sophomore attack Paul Beling to make McKelvie the KSC all-time goals leader at 170 in his career.
Bacarella then scored once again to seal the deal for the Owls before Verville score twice, giving the Owls the 14-8 to conclude their Florida road trip. The win now gives the Owls a record of 3-2.
Nick can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com
