KEENE, N.H. – If sophomore women's soccer midfielder
Alexie Root (Old Saybrook) could play her entire career against Keene State College, she would likely be a first-ballot Eastern Connecticut State University Alumni Hall of Fame selection.
For the second time in five months, Root came off the bench to score the tying and winning goals that gave the Warriors a Little East Conference victory over the Owls. Last spring, Root forced overtime with her first career goal with eight minutes left in regulation, then produced the Golden Goal 6:34 into overtime when she beat three defenders and scored from the left side of the goal in a 3-2 victory.
Saturday on Alumni Day at Keene, Root tied the match with 12 minutes left in the first half, then won it, 2-1, with 6:29 left in regulation at Dr. Ron Butcher Field on the KSC campus.
Root, who missed the first four matches this fall with injury, has scored five career goals in ten career matches. Four of them – two game-winners – have come against the Owls on a total of five shots. She converted both of her tries Saturday.
With the victory, the Warriors earn an identical result in the start of the series against Owls' first-year head coach Sarah Testo in similar fashion to the final match against former Keene head coach Denise Lyons last April 26: a one-goal victory.
Eastern (4-4-1, 1-2-1 LEC) had battled to a final series record of 17-17-2 with the Lyons-led Owls by winning four of the last five meetings – including last year's 3-2 overtime victory at Rick McCarthy Field in Lyons' final match of her 29-year coaching career. Lyons led Keene to unprecedented success in nearly three decades, winning nearly 400 matches.
Saturday, the teams were separated by a final single goal for the seventh time in the last eight meetings – Eastern winning for the fifth time in that stretch. The victory snaps an 0-2-1 winless streak this year for the Warriors, whose only road victory this year had come in a 2-0 victory at Mitchell College two weeks ago.
Senior keeper
Alexis Tyrrell (Torrington) made three saves and her defense which included senior
Olivia Rovalino (Simsbury), junior
Emily Barata (New Fairfield) and sophomore
Jillian Parenteau (West Greenwich, RI) shot out the hosts after junior midfielder Kayleigh Marshall had given the Owls an early lead 18 minutes into the match.
Three of Keene's (3-6-1, 1-2-0 LEC) losses this year have come at the hands of nationally-ranked teams Wesleyan University, Amherst College, and Western Connecticut by a combined score of 20-0.
Keene's only loss in five contests last spring had come against Eastern, and the Owls were coming off a 10-9-0 season (5-3-0 LEC) in the last full season in 2019.
Eastern plays the second of three straight road games Wednesday at Connecticut College before later returning home to start a four-game homestand Oct. 13 against Rhode Island College in a conference match. In addition to facing Conn – ranked No. 8 in Region I – Eastern hosts Wesleyan University Oct. 20 in a non-conference match. The Cardinals are ranked No. 1 in Region I and No. 12 nationally.
