The Keene State women’s lacrosse team came away with a victory in their first game against the University of New England (UNE) with a score of 19-8 on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Both teams came out with an electric energy which proved to turn into a successful bout for the Owls. The scoring began two minutes into the first quarter as sophomore midfielder Tess Brown put away a goal to put Keene State up 1-0.
The scrappy play continued until around the six-minute mark when the Nor’easters put up a goal to tie the game. Two minutes later, another goal was scored by UNE putting them up one.
Before the first quarter ended, the Owls were able to score two free position goals, one by Brown for her second and the other for the captain midfielder Mindy St. Marie to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of the Owls.
After some possession changes to start off the second quarter, Brown scored her third while being man-up to secure her hat trick for the day as well as a two-goal lead. Undisciplined play by the Owls left them shorthanded with UNE scoring three goals in just a minute to take a 5-4 lead.
KSC was quick to tie it as captain midfielder Haile Ratajak scored with eight minutes to go in the half. Around 30 seconds later, junior attackman Chase Gengras scored a man-up goal to give the Owls a lead.
The Nor’easters tied the game once more before Brown and Gengras scored two goals within the final 90 seconds to take a two-goal lead.
The Owls came out of the second half ready to add to their 8-6 lead. Just over a minute in, junior attackman Lola Smith scored and gave the Owls a three-goal lead. UNE shortly brought the lead back to two, however, Ratajack had other plans and scored, causing a three-goal lead. The Nor’easters could not find an answer for the Keene State captains as St. Marie scored her second to push the lead to 11-7.
With three minutes remaining, scoring machine Brown scored a free-position goal for KSC. First-year attackman Hayden Smith put one up for the Owls, leaving the score at 13-7.
The Owls did not slow down during the fourth quarter. UNE scored for the final time as sophomore goalkeeper Mabelle Bessette kept her team out of reach. Brown scored three more goals as The Owls began to run away from the Nor’easters on the scoreboard. The next two goals were by Ratajack.
The Owls rode into the sunset as St. Marie scored her third in the final minute to lock in the 19-8 victory for the Owls.
Brown recorded her career high with eight goals, and Ratajack and St. Marie both recorded a hat trick.
The Keene State Owls will play their next game on Thursday, Feb. 29, against Fitchburg State at the Owl Athletic Complex at 4 p.m.
Jacob Enscoe can be contacted at
jenscoe@kscequinox.com
