KEENE, N.H. – No team seeded as low as fifth had ever won the Little East Conference women's soccer championship.

In 2013, Eastern Connecticut State University made a bid to do that, but was thrwarted in its effort as second-seeded and host Keene State College won its first championship in nine years with its sixth straight victory, 1-0, at the Owl Stadium Complex.

At right: Seniors Blair Church (7) and Megan Godwin (19), along with classmates Kaitlyn Kennedy, Nicole Leonard and Tamar Merheb, came up a win shy of the program's second LEC title in three years. 

Eastern (10-9-1) was a team which lived and died by the 1-0 result all year. It advanced to its eighth final in 11 years by maintain post-season life with 1-0 wins over  fourth-seeded Western Connecticut State University and top-seeded Massachusetts Boston before dying against second-seeded Keene State (17-4-1). A winner of four LEC playoff titles since 2003, Eastern lost for the first time in five tries against the Owls in the championship match. Three times, the Warriors had defeated Keene as the No. 2 seed against the No. 1 Owls on the latter's home field.

Eastern concluded the season having played to 1-0 decisions in 13 of its 20 matches, winning seven.

Saturday, Keene qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament automatically with its third LEC tournament crown. Ranked in a tie for tenth in New England, Keene senior Kristen Huckins beat Eastern junior keeper Taylor Shannon (Waterford) with a perfectly-placed free kick with less than three minutes left in the first half, and Keene junior keeper Victoria Crenson and her defense made that lone marker stand up.

Having equaled Keene's shot total in a 3-1 regular-season loss at Keene just over five weeks ago, Eastern was outshot 21-4 this time and was held without a corner kick (Keene had eight).

Making her second collegiate start in three days in place of injured freshman starter Chelsea Santos (Windsor Locks), Shannon made seven saves and concluded her season (and perhaps her career) with a 0.50 goals-against average.

Keene, which finished second to UMass Boston in the regular-season, outscored seven regular-season and two LEC playoff opponents by a margin of 25-4, three of the goals coming in a one-goal loss to visiting UMass Boston Oct. 19. Since losing to UMB, Keene has outscored four conference opponents, 12-0.

Keene is 9-2-1 at home while Eastern concluded the year with a 3-6-1 mark on its opponents' home field.