Colby College
Senior Tyler Reilly led the Keene State men’s lacrosse team with five goals and one assist in a win against Colby College, 17-10 on March 29 at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Keene State gained an early lead as senior Bryan Rotatori connected with Reilly for the first goal of the game. Colby College responded quickly, finding the back of the net themselves.
Jacob Paquin/ Equinox Staff
Both teams went back and forth with goals to finish the quarter, but the Owls remained on top 3-2 at the end of one.
Colby College received the first goal of the second half to tie the score at three before Keene State netted three goals in under 30 seconds to maintain their lead with 11 minutes left on the clock.
Colby, with back-to-back goals, brought them within one, but Rotatori passed the ball up to senior Robert Hart and junior Jon Nassif to connect with junior Hunter Arnold to close out the quarter and bring the Owls back to their three-point lead going into the half.
The Owls pushed their advantage into double digits between the third and fourth quarters by scoring seven goals. First-year Anthony Marcella shot a goal with 11:22 left in the game.
Colby outscored Keene State 5-2 in the last minutes, but the Owls took home the victory 17-10. “It was a big win for the team. We took 71 shots the week before against Bates and they just didn’t fall, so we knew we had to just focus on our finishing and we would be all set. We got great play out of our second line of midfielders Jake Genest, David Wiedenfeld and Anthony Marcella and I think their contributions kept the offense fresh and dynamic,” Reilly said.
UMass Dartmouth
The Keene State Owls men’s lacrosse team was led by seniors Robert Hart and Tyler Reilly with both five goals each against UMass Dartmouth on April 3. The Owls excelled passed the Corsairs 19-10.
UMass Dartmouth was the first to get on the board with back-to-back goals with 12:18 remaining in the first quarter.
Keene State fired a 4-0 run. Senior Bryan Rotatori started the run and grabbed a 4-2 lead.
UMass Dartmouth would only gain one more goal in the quarter, but the Owls maintained their two-point advantage at the end of the first. Hart found the net off of a pass from first-year David Wiedenfeld to bring the score to 5-3.
The Owls continued to widen their lead in the beginning of the second, the first four goals would be Keene State goals from Rotatori, Reilly, junior Hunter Arnold and junior Jon Nassif for a six-point lead.
UMass Dartmouth answered with a goal from Jordan Torres with 6:24 to go.
Back-to-back goals from both teams ended the second quarter, with the Owls holding their 10-5 lead at the half.
UMass Dartmouth would only come as close to four in the last half of the game, but KSC extended their lead to double-digits in the fourth quarter. A final goal from Reilly gave the owls a 19-9 advantage and their biggest lead of the game.
Keene State will continue LEC play when the Owls host Salem State on Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m.
Shelby Iava can be contacted at siava@kscequinox.com
