Keene State men’s soccer fell on September 13 to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) by a 2-1 score.
The night began with the Owls falling behind early on a goal from RPI’s forward/midfielder Paul Silva at 7:53. Keene State senior goalkeeper Anthony Pasciuto had a good first half despite allowing the early goal, stopping a few other goal opportunities from the Engineers to keep the lead at 1-0 entering the half.
The Owls were not done, however. With nearly 20 minutes to play, RPI’s defender and midfielder Joaquin Rodriguez committed a foul in the penalty area, allowing a penalty kick from the Owls. Keene would send forward Mbambi Mbungu to take the shot and it would work out, as he would tie the game at 69:45 on the penalty kick.
Unfortunately, the 1-1 tie wouldn’t last long, as just over 20 seconds later, the Owls would commit a foul in their penalty area, awarding the Engineers with their own penalty kick. RPI sent their goal-scorer Silva out to try the kick, and it succeeded. The Engineers were back out in front, 2-1, with under 20 minutes left.
The Owls put together a valiant last 20 minutes, but came up short, falling 2-1 to RPI and missing an opportunity to pick up their first win of 2022. Despite the loss, Pasciuto recorded six saves on eight shots in his season debut in net and senior midfielder Declan Coughlin and first-year midfielder Elias Stowell-Aleman would each record shots for the Owls.
Keene State will return to the Dr. Ron Butcher Field on September 24 as they host Western Connecticut State University at 1 p.m.
Ryan Goodwin can be contacted at
rgoodwin@kscequinox.com
