Box Score
KEENE, N.H. – Unable to compete against Keene State College in recent years, the Eastern Connecticut State University men's lacrosse team took a giant step toward reversing that trend in the first round of the 2024 Little East Conference playoffs before being eliminated in a 12-6 loss Tuesday night at the Owl Athletic Complex.
 
Trailing by four goals late in the first half, fifth-seeded Eastern (6-11) scored three unanswered goals to cut the gap to one before fourth-seeded Keene (7-8) regained its footing by scoring in the final seconds of the half, then shutting out the Warriors in the second half and pulling away for the victory.
 
Keene advances to Thursday's semifinals at No. 1 Western Connecticut State University. Against Keene Tuesday, Eastern was playing its 12^th road game of the season. Under first-year head coach Craig Gibson, Eastern had won its final two regular-season LEC matches to solidify its post-season playoff berth.
 
Trailing by four goals with just over four minutes left in the first half, Eastern got goals from first-year players Sean Filley (Guilford) and Gabe Roman (Meriden) – the latter coming as the team's only tally on five man-up opportunities – and one from junior Brycen Kennedy (Southington) to make it a one-goal game with a minute left before the half.
 
With one goal and one assist, sophomore Mike Stevenson (Shelton) was the only Eastern player with multiple points. First-year goalie Gregory Hilinski (Shelton) made 14 saves while junior faceoff man Rick O'Neal (East Hartford) won half of his 22 faceoffs and finished the season with a .546 success rate on 405 attempts, breaking the program season record for faceoffs attempts during the game. Hilinski finished with 209 saves – the fifth-most in a season in program history.