Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – Keene State College scored four goals in a span of 15 minutes to defeat Eastern Connecticut State University for the 11th straight time in a 7-2 Little East Conference verdict Saturday at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.
Eastern (4-10, 1-7 LEC) had cut Keene's (10-6, 7-1 LEC) lead to one with goals from freshmen Laura Chicorka (Enfield) and Hannah Keiser (Danbury) four minutes apart late in the first half, but the Owls answered by regaining the momentum with a goal before halftime and added three in the first 11 minutes of the second half to pull away.
Having won or shared ten LEC regular-season titles, Keene moved into a two-way tie for second place in the conference with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. In a meeting of previously undefeated LEC unbeatens, UMass Dartmouth erased an early 2-0 deficit to tie the match before halftime and win it with one second left in regulation, 4-3.
Freshman Lyndsie Rabenius scored two goals on 11 shots for Keene, with Katlyn Simula also scoring two and Kalin Billert adding her 16th goal of the season – second-most in the conference -- and two assists.
Sophomore Olivia Mullen (Bethel) made 13 saves for Eastern, while sophomore Caitlin Davino-Draper stopped three shots over the first 52 minutes to gain credit for the win for Keene.
Eastern visits Western Connecticut State University (3-5 LEC) Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the first of four remaining regular-season matches.
