On a brisk, partly sunny Saturday at Joanne Merrill Field in Nashua, N.H., Keene State Women’s Soccer overtook Rivier University 4-2 to kick off the team’s 2025 season.
Coming off of last year’s losing 7-10-3 season, the Owls took the field ready to start the year off on a positive note in an opening rematch against a team they also bested last season: The Rivier University Raiders.
The action started early in the August 30 game, with junior midfielder Bryn Dickinson striking a goal past the Raiders’ goalkeeper Olivia Rosario just six and a half minutes into the game.
The Owls’ initial lead did not last for long, as Rivier struck back with a goal of their own just minutes later, as the Raiders’ forward Bailey Gatchell tied things up 1-1.
Things were relatively quiet on the offensive front in the immediate aftermath of the goal, with the Owls making two shots and the Raiders making three between the 10-minute mark and the 30-minute mark.
Fortunately for the away team, Keene State ended up being able to find the back of the net once again when first-year midfielder and forward Kayla DiPasquale secured her first career goal with the Owls just past the 30-minute mark.
Keene State ended up making another fruitless shot a few minutes later, and Rivier fired off three unsuccessful shots in the closing five minutes of the half, leaving the Owls ahead 2-1 going into the second half.
The latter half of the game began with a slew of substitutions, with both sides throwing five new players onto the field.
It was not long before the Raiders started hacking away at the ball, with the team making three shots within the first five minutes of the half, as well as securing two corner kicks, mounting pressure against the narrowly ahead Keene State.
At the 55-minute mark, Keene State’s junior forward Allison Kenyon made a shot-on-goal, though Rosario saved the would-be third goal for the Owls.
Rivier made two more shots in the following minutes, and Dickinson made an attempt on goal which was also stopped by Rosario, leaving the game at a nail-biting 2-1.
Rivier made two more shots, one of which was saved by senior goalkeeper Riley Andriski, thwarting the offensive threat.
Just 37 seconds after an offside call was made against Keene State at the 78-minute mark, the Owls finally added an insurance goal when DiPasquale notched her second of the game, making for an eventful day for the rookie Owl.
However, the team was not out of the weeds yet.
The Raiders quickly responded with a goal of their own, putting the game back within striking distance at 3-2.
The Owls lucked out though, as the home team was not able to do so much as make a single shot in the remaining 10 minutes of the game.
The nail in the coffin for the Raiders came just 40 seconds before the 90-minute mark, when junior midfielder Elizabeth Tschudin, assisted by Kenyon, rifled off a shot into the back of the net, ending the game with a victorious 4-2 score.
The Owls will return home for their next matchup when they play against the Wheaton Lyons on Saturday.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
