KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore Sean Kern (Rockport, Mass.) scored his first career goal but Plymouth State University fell to Keene State College, 3-1, in a Little East Conference (LEC) men's soccer game at Dr. Ron Butcher Field on Wednesday night.
 
The Owls got off to a quick start with a goal in the first seven minutes. It looked like PSU would square the game three minutes later, but a shot from sophomore Faisal Abdallah (Concord, N.H.) hit the post and the hosts would build a 2-0 lead by halftime. The Panthers picked up the offensive intensity in the second half but were unable to break through as Keene pushed the margin to 3-0. Kern answered minutes later, but PSU was unable to cut into the deficit any further.
 
Plymouth State falls to 0-6-0 and 0-3-0 in the LEC, while Keene State moves to 1-5-1 (1-1-0 LEC).
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 1, Keene State 3
  • Plymouth State (0-6-0, 0-3-0 LEC)
  • Keene State (1-5-1, 1-1-0 LEC)

How it Happened:

• The Owls were quickly on the board within the first seven minutes of the game. Sophomore Nicolas Cornejo (Durham, N.H.) turned aside a KSC to set up an Owls' corner and junior Denis Fleming (Pearl River, N.Y.) glanced the delivery past Cornejo for the early lead.
• Abdallah nearly evened the game when he volleyed a centering feed from freshman Sondre Asheim (Klepp, Norway), but the ball glanced off the post and rolled out of bounds.
• Keene doubled the lead in the 29th minute when a free kick glanced off a PSU defender and into the net.
• The hosts pushed the lead to 3-0 in the 54th minute, before Kern put the Panthers on the board. Freshman August Westerholm (Stockholm, Sweden) sent a beautiful ball of the left foot that Kern ran onto before touching it past the Owls' goalkeeper for his first tally.

By the Numbers:

• PSU held a 5-4 edge in shots on goal and earned four corners to the Owls' two.
• Both teams were whistled for 12 fouls and issued a single yellow card.
• Seven different players fired shots for the Panthers.
• The two teams have played a number of tight contests of late, with Keene holding a narrow 5-4 advantage over the last nine meetings.

Up Next:

• The Panthers remain on the road on Saturday (Oct. 2) for a 1:00 p.m. LEC clash at Rhode Island College.