Men's Soccer Falls to Keene State, 5-1

Worcester, MA --- Keene State senior Kyle Leavitt (Plymouth, MA) scored a goal and added an assist to help pace five different players in the scoring column as the Owls defeated Worcester State, 5-1, in non-conference action this evening at Coughlin Field.

After maintaining possession for most of the first period, Keene State (5-2) got on the board when sophomore Michael Jaques (Tolland, CT) fired his second marker of the season on a shot from the right side of the box in the 35th minute.

The visitors tacked on another goal with 4:25 on the clock on a pass from Leavitt that came from the midfield to an open junior Brian Swindell (Milford, MA) to go up 2-0 just before the intermission for his first marker of the season.

The Lancers (1-5) had two great opportunities before the break when junior Alex Wolfel (Farmington, CT) was open in the 39th minute and again in the 44th minute. However, the hosts came up empty as Wolfel's first bid hit the crossbar and his second attempt was snatched out of the air by sophomore netminder Mike Kitterman (Monson, MA).

To start off the second period Leavitt helped the Owls go up 3-0, following a foul, when his attempt glanced off of a defender into the net for his first tally of the season, just under five minutes into the stanza.

The visitors also netted their other two markers on long free kicks as sophomore Brett Sullivan (Barrington, RI) scored in the 65th minute and junior Brice Lawlor (Woodbury, CT) tacked on the fifth goal in the 75th minute. Both tallies were their first of the year.

Worcester State broke the shutout in the 78th minute. Freshman Alex Goncalves (Ludlow, MA) found the back of the net when he received a feed from junior Brendan Whitson (Auburn, MA) for his second goal of the campaign.

Ketterman finished with four stops for Keene State before he was finished off by first-year Mark Keller (Northboro, MA) who played a scoreless 7:21.

WSU freshman Tim Schmidt (Southwick, MA) collected with four saves in 68 minutes of action and classmate Nick Zucco (Ludlow, MA) finished the contest with one stop in the final 22 minutes.

The Lancers were out shot by the Owls, 23-14, and both squads were even in corners with two apiece. The game lived up to its billing and proved to be a physical one as the two teams combined for nearly 40 fouls.

Both teams will continue their respective league schedules on Saturday. The Blue and Gold head south for a 7 PM match up against Bridgewater State while Keene State hosts Southern Maine at 1 o'clock.