Soren Frantz / Photo Editor

Here’s a story.
A soccer player goes from beginning the season as a team’s third-string goalie to becoming the face the team looked to during championship time.
That is the tale of sophomore goalkeeper Nathaniel Howard, who before last Friday’s Little East Conference Semifinals had only played in four games of the season, two of which he played for less than 25 minutes.
Howard was put in after Keene’s regular go-to goalie, sophomore Anthony Pasciuto, was forced to sit out of two games. Those two games just so happened to be debateably the two biggest games of the season; the LEC semifinals and the LEC final.
Howard, with at that time only 163 minutes in-goal for the season, stepped up to the plate and produced two shutouts for the Keene Owls, securing their spot as the 2019 LEC Champions.
Howard transferred from Central Connecticut State University after going to school and competing on the soccer team there for a year.
During Howard’s time at CCSU he competed in three games and accumulated a total of nine saves. CCSU, a D1 school, finished tenth this year in their conference.
Howard was put in as the starting goalie for round one of the NCAA men’s soccer tournament this past Saturday, November 16. Keene State College took on Ithaca College to determine who would face off against Amherst College in round two. He played the full 90-minute game and, although Keene ended up falling to Ithaca, Howard racked up a game save percentage of .778.
Howard, now a staple player for Keene’s men’s soccer team, ends the season with a save percentage of .833. However, Howard is not ranked in the Little East Conference standings because he did not compete in over 33 percent of team goalie minutes.

Claire Boughton can be contacted
at cboughton@kscequinox.com

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Claire Boughton

Hello! My name is Claire Boughton. I have worked with the Equinox for a little over two years and have held the position of the Senior Sports Reporter and now the Sports Editor. I am from West Simsbury, Connecticut, and live with my mom and dad. I have an older brother named Grant who is currently living in Albany, New York, but plans to move to New York City in a few months (because a global pandemic didn’t seem to scare him away from city-life). I have two cats named Stella and Luna, a dog named Sage and a fish named Shrimp. My cats are both 16 years old, making them both 108 human years old. That means that they would have survived through the Great Depression, both World Wars, the Cold War, women earning the right to vote and so much more. That’s a lot of wisdom. My dog is 12 years old, making her 74 human years old. We adopted her when she was four years old from Arkansas. I’m not sure how old Shrimp is but he is a baby betta I bought at PETCO about three weeks ago. I am an avid plant owner and love to help my friends and family keep their plants alive. I also wrote an article on kscequinox.com about what plants are good for what dorm rooms. I paint and draw in whatever free time I have and sometimes ride my bike that I got in middle school. My favorite part of the Sports Editor position is creating the weekly layout for the sports section. I have always loved design and making things nice to look at which I get to do every week with this job! If you are interested in writing for the sports section or have any questions you can contact me at cboughton@kscequinox.com.