Keene State College Women’s Lacrosse team persevered and ultimately lost to Western New England University (WNE) with a score of 12-8. On Saturday, March 7, at Golden Bear Stadium, the team lost its third game in a row.
Early in the first quarter, the Owls took the lead for a short while until the Golden Bears’ strong scoring spree left KSC in a difficult position from which it was unable to fully recover.
Junior attacker Allison Cyr scored the first goal for Western New England just 1:07 into the game, giving the Golden Bears an early 1-0 lead. Senior Captain Riley Devine’s draw control prompted the Owls to react swiftly. Just 28 seconds later, senior midfielder Lola Varricchione took advantage of a free-position opportunity to tie the score at 1-1. Moments later, the Owls grasped an early advantage. With 12:04 left in the first quarter, Devine connected with sophomore attacker Tess Brown after Varricchione caused a mistake in the attack zone. Brown completed the play to give the Owls a 2-1 lead.
For KSC, it was the team’s final goal for the quarter. In response, WNE scored six goals in a row to end the quarter. The run was highlighted by goals from first-year attack Carlie Francis, junior attack Lyndsey Bunnell, senior attack Ella Henry, senior midfielder Sydney Miles and junior midfielder Ella Nish. Golden Bears’ junior goalkeeper Emily Picolla stopped the Owls’ attack with a few crucial saves. WNE had established a dominating 7-2 lead by the end of the first quarter.
With 8:18 left in the half, senior defender Samantha Montecalvo’s man-up opportunity allowed the Golden Bears to extend their lead into the second quarter. They led 9-2 at the break thanks to another late goal from senior midfielder Lina Eves. During the first quarter, the Owls substituted in first-year goalie Katelyn Nicotera. Nicotera finished the game with six saves in 48 minutes of action which helped solidify the defense. In the third quarter, the Owls started to show signs of life.
After forcing a turnover on a transition opportunity at 8:40, sophomore attacker Anna Maccarini helped Varricchione score to make it 9-3. After causing a turnover just over two minutes later, Brown swiftly turned it into an offensive play, completing a pass from first-year attacker Helen Baxter to reduce the margin to five. Shortly after, with 4:15 left in the third quarter, Varricchione maintained her impressive play by scoring on a man-up opportunity to cut the Owls’ deficit to four at 9-5. When Maccarini received a free-position opportunity, with KSC on the verge of closing the gap even more, her shot missed the post. Henry’s goal shortly afterward stopped the Owls’ momentum and returned the advantage to five going into the fourth quarter for WNE.
Early in the third quarter, the sides exchanged goals, with Varricchione setting up Brown’s goal. Despite the Owls’ persistent efforts, WNE answered once more and kept the game under control. Varricchione and Maccarini’s late man-up goals helped the Owls narrow the deficit, but the Golden Bears won 12-8. Brown contributed three goals and an assist while Varricchione led KSC’s offensive output with four goals and an assist. Maccarini also contributed an assist and a goal. The Owls maintained advantages in several statistical categories despite the defeat, including draw controls (15-7) and shots (33-25). However, Picolla’s 16 saves for WNE turned out to be crucial to the result.
The team will head back on the road on Saturday, March 14, to take on Little East Conference opponents Rhode Island College for the team’s first in-conference game of the season.
Alexander Vaccaro can be contacted at
