Men’s and women’s lacrosse begin their seasons the week of Feb. 22, with men’s lacrosse opening with an away game against Western New England University and women’s lacrosse opening away against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Men’s lacrosse comes off a dicey 2025 season, going 7-9 in the regular season. Opening its season with three losses to tough opponents, the Owls picked up steam after a win against Vassar College. Entering conference play, the Owls went 4-4 to secure the fifth seed in the Little East Conference (LEC) tournament. Keene State won its first playoff game against Massachusetts Maritime, but fell in the semifinals to Western Connecticut State (WestConn).
Women’s lacrosse will hit the field after an 11-7 regular season last spring. The Owls entered their first conference game with a 4-1 record, earning a win against UMass-Boston for their first conference play. The Owls went 3-3 through a six-game LEC gauntlet, ending the regular season 5-3 in the Little East. Keene State ran into a postseason upset against Eastern Connecticut (EastConn), which knocked the Owls out of the tournament.
Senior captain Payton Guntulis said last season went well for the Owls. “It was a big adjustment for us since we did lose a lot of our starters and players from that last senior class. I think we held our ground pretty well. We lost to Eastern [in the playoffs], which was kind of a surprise to us,” Guntulis said.
Both teams enter the season ranked fifth in the conference coaches’ poll. Men’s lacrosse placed below WestConn, UMass-Boston, perennial rivals Plymouth State and Massachusetts Maritime. The top four are only separated by 15 votes.
Junior defenseman Ty Cougler said he feels optimistic going into the season. “When you look at the conference, those top five teams, it’s really anyone’s game, it all comes down to the last two and half weeks [of conference play],” Cougler said. Keene State will play seven of its eight conference games in a row at the end of the season.
Women’s lacrosse finished below WestConn, Southern Maine, EastConn and Plymouth State.
Head Coach Travis Wyant said he thinks the conference poll indicates how close the conference can be.
“I think [the preseason poll] speaks to the fact that those top five teams are all pretty interchangeable,” Wyant said. “We’re one of the two, if not the only, conference that got two at-large bids at the LEC tournament last year, which speaks to the competitiveness of the conference.”
Wyant said he considers an LEC Championship the expectation for his team. “I think our expectation, every year, is an LEC Championship. Ultimately speaking, what we want to be doing is playing our best lacrosse come playoffs,” Wyant said. “I think we hit our best lacrosse [too early] last season and we weren’t able to replicate that performance in the playoffs. The goal is always to be playing our best lacrosse when it matters.”
Men’s lacrosse plays its second game away at Johnson and Wales University on Saturday, Feb. 28. Women’s lacrosse will open its season the same day with an away contest against RPI.
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
