Strong second half lifts Owls past Panthers

            KEENE, N.H. – Keene State College outscored rival Plymouth State University 7-1 in the second half Tuesday afternoon, pulling away from a 3-3 halftime score to post a 10-4 Little East Conference women's lacrosse victory at Owl Athletic Complex.

            The Owls used a balanced offensive attack, with four players scoring two goals apiece. Sophomore Caitlin Swanson (Holderness, N.H./Plymouth Regional) led all scorers with three goals for PSU. Keene State improves to 6-5 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while the Panthers drop to 6-5 and 2-2 in league action.

            In a slow-paced, defensive first half, there were only two goals in the first 20 minutes, one by each team.  Swanson scored for PSU at the 16:30 mark, and Jamie Albert answered for KSC at 11:35.  Swanson added two more for the Panthers before the half ended, including one with 12 seconds on the clock that deadlocked the score at the break, 3-3.

            Keene State scored twice in the opening minute of the second half, one each by seniors Emily Persano (Somers, Conn.) and Jill Kirk (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) Plymouth State scored its lone goal of the second half two minutes later when freshman Mekenna Bay (Maracaibo, Venezuela) scored on a free position shot to cut the margin to 5-4.

            The Owls took control from there, scoring five unanswered goals and running away with a 10-5 victory. Persano netted her second goal of the contest, and Kirk, Lauren Sawyer (Westbrook, Maine) and sophomore Lauren Brown (Agawam, Mass.) added two each in the second half to fuel the Owls attack.

            Freshman netminder Erin Taylor (Brewster, N.Y.) made four saves for her sixth victory of the season, while Panther goalie Lorin Field (Hollis, N.H.) made 10 stops for PSU.

            The Owls outshot the Panthers 22-12 in the contest and won 10-of-16 draw controls, including a seven-to-two advantage in the second half.

            Both teams play non-conference games on Thursday, KSC traveling to Colby-Sawyer College and PSU returning home to host Framingham State University. 

 (Courtesy of Keene State Sports Information)

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