The Keene State Men’s Soccer team traveled to Boston on Saturday, Oct. 12, to battle with the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) Beacons in a crucial Little East Conference (LEC) matchup. Coming into this game, the Owls have not lost in five games, and were aiming to keep that streak alive, but were unsuccessful.
Keene State did not have the start they wanted. After just over seven minutes of play, UMass Boston’s Patrick Garcia found the back of the net to put UMB up early. About 10 minutes later, Rafael Gross tacked on another for the Beacons.
The Owls’ only shot of the first half came in the 20th minute by sophomore forward Christian Correa; however, it was off target. The Beacons kept their foot on the gas pedal, as Eduardo Chido put UMB up three in the 24th minute after a barrage of corner kicks.
Not too long after, the Beacons added a fourth goal, this time by Max Mian in the 37th minute. This was the only time the Owls had allowed four goals in the first half this season.
Senior goalkeeper Regan Racicot did all he could to shut down UMB’s attack, making a total of six saves throughout the game, however, the result in the second half was not in favor of the Owls either. Mian made it a five-goal game just under 10 minutes into the second half with his second of the afternoon. KSC finally got their first shot on goal around 24 minutes into the second half by junior forward Nicholas Henao Vasquez, but he was ultimately denied by Beacons goalkeeper Victor Reyes.
Reyes kept standing tall and making saves for UMB, as the clock reached zeroes, giving the Owls their biggest loss of the season with a final score of 5-0. With this loss, the Owls fall to 3-6-3 on the season, and 2-2-1 in conference play.
Keene State returns to action at home on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. for an LEC matchup against the University of Southern Maine.
Teddy Steinberg can be contacted at
tsteinberg@kscequinox.com
