It isn’t every day that a team gets to have their first game of the season also be the home opener. However, last Saturday, February 22, Keene State’s men’s lacrosse team got to start their season on home turf against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers. 

While the Owls came up short against RPI, ending the game with a loss of 9-12, it was still an exciting home opener with some very notable plays.

The Owls were the first to score with senior midfielder Connor Nolan sinking the ball into the back of the net around the eight minute mark of the first quarter. However, almost immediately the Engineers turned the game around. RPI sophomore attack Cooper Urban scored the first two goals for the Engineers, marking the beginning of RPI’s six-goal scoring streak.

It wasn’t until seven minutes into the second quarter that Owls junior attack Joe Nutting scored, breaking RPI’s scoring streak. Nutting’s goal was followed a minute later by teammate and junior attack Jordan Caito’s own goal, bringing the score to 3-6.

However, RPI then shut down any chance of a comeback with three more goals. Owls senior midfielder Anthony Marcella sunk one more in the back of the net with 19 seconds left in the second quarter, bringing the halftime score up to 4-9.

The third quarter saw an outstanding play from junior midfielder Matthew Lemke, who would win the faceoff and score six seconds later. 

Lemke’s goal was followed by another score from Caito and a follow-up score from senior attack Dave Wiedenfeld, bringing the score 7-10.

However, two more goals from the RPI Engineers ruined the Owls’ efforts to take home a win on the home turf. Even with a last-minute score from Wiedenfeld, the final score saw RPI winning 9-12.

Keene State scorers for the game were Connor Nolan with one, Joe Nutting with two, Jordan Caito with two, Anthony Marcella with one, Matthew Lemke with one and Dave Wiedenfeld with two.

The next home game for the Owls will be Friday, March 28 against Eastern Connecticut State University at 1 p.m.

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.