MANSFIELD, Conn. – Giacomo Sinopoli hammered a free kick under the crossbar in the 61^st minute to snap a tie and send the Keene State College men's soccer team to its first regular-season win on Eastern Connecticut State University's home field in 14 years, 2-1, Saturday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field.
 
The teams had traded goals in the first half before Sinopoli drilled a line drive over the wall and under the crossbar from more than 20 yards that eluded the dive of Eastern senior goalie Dylan Pallanck (Willington) and gave Keene (3-2-1, 1-0-1) its first regular-season win on Eastern's field since a 4-1 triumph in 2009. Since that win, the Owls were 0-5-1 at Eastern in the regular season, losing three times by shutout in that stretch.
 
Keene was winless in its previous three games (0-2-1) and coming off a scoreless conference tie at Western Connecticut last Saturday, but had the better of play against Eastern (2-3-1, 1-1-0), which was playing its first home game since shutting out the University of Southern Maine, 4-0, eight days ago.
 
In addition to scoring twice Saturday, the Owls had two apparent goals second-half goals nullified. With the game tied at 1-all in the 75^th minute, Brandon Comire's header off Sinopoli's corner was nullified when the trajectory of the corner was ruled to have been over the end line. After Sinopoli scored what proved to be the game-winning goal  70 seconds later on his free kick that ultimately snapped a three-game Keene losing streak at the hands of Eastern, another Sinopoli goal was nullified due to offside when he rebounded a shot by Cedrick Ishoboravyose that had caromed off the right post.  
 
Elias Stowell-Aleman's first goal of the year from near the right post on Declan Coughlin's corner kick had vaulted Keene into a 1-0 lead  in the 31^st minute before Eastern tied the game with three minutes left in the half on junior Walter Scudder's (Unionville) penalty kick goal.
 
Eastern's first real chance to score in the second half came in the first four minutes of the second half, but Keene goalkeeper Regan Racicot made a kick-save on a bid from in close by junior Sean Cafferty (Clinton) off of passes from sophomore Niall O'Brien (Guilford) and first-year player Sebastian Kadlof (Clinton). With the game still tied, Keene had a chance  to go ahead prior to Sinopoli's tie-breaking free kick, when, with 13 minutes gone in the second half, Pallanck denied Mbambi Mbungu's left-footed bid with a save at the near left post.
 
Trailing 2-1, Eastern had an ideal chance to tie the game with under two minutes left when Eastern first-year player Noah Page (Stafford Springs) had Racicot beat from the box but his shot was blocked by a defender that  preserved Keene's lead.
 
Eastern's last two goals against Keene have come on penalty kicks, including Larson Richards' game-winner in the 15^th minute of Eastern's 1-0 first round LEC victory last year at Thomas Nevers Field. Dating back to Eastern's 3-2 regular-season win at Keene last October 1, the Warriors have gone 188 minutes and 29 seconds without scoring against Keene in the run of play.
 
Keene outshot Eastern, 15-9 and had a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks. Racicot made four saves and Pallanck two.

Eastern played without junior starting defender Ryan Toomey (Willington), who missed his first match after five starts.
 
Eastern visits Rhode Island College Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a conference match.