KEENE, N.H. -- Junior Taylor Jette (Simsbury, Conn.) and senior Mark Schairer (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip) combined for eight goals and five assists as the Keene State College Owls defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies 17-6 in Little East Conference men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.  The game was the conference opener for both teams.

            The Owls have won two straight and improved their overall mark to 3-4.  The Huskies dropped their second straight to slip back to .500 at 3-3 overall.

            Jette scored four goals and dished out three assists while Schairer had four goals and a pair of helpers.  Junior Ian Hart (Richmond, N.H./Monadnock Regional) was the other Owl to record multiple goals netting two.  Junior goalie Jason Leser (Brewster, N.Y.) played the first three quarters and registered eight saves.  Rookies Jack Rogers (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxboro) and Eric Palmer (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) split the fourth quarter and combined to make one save.

            Freshman Kaleb Smith (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) led the Huskies with four goals.  Senior Dan Thomas (Shrewsbury, Mass.) contributed a goal and an assist.  Junior goalie Kyle Dussault (Lewiston, Maine) had seven saves in the first three quarters before giving way to junior Ryan Hatch (Cape Elizabeth, Maine).  Hatch stopped one shot.

            Smith scored twice in the opening quarter to give the visitors a brief 2-1 lead.  Jette and junior JT Galloway (Tampa, Fla.) found the net in the final two minutes to give the Owls a 3-2 edge after 15 minutes.

            Keene State took command of the game in the second quarter out scoring USM 7-0.  Schairer would score twice in the period, and Jette had a goal and two assists.

            The Owls extended their string of unanswered goals to 12 scoring three straight goals in the third quarter before Smith tallied his third goal off a feed from Thomas.

            Each side had three scores in the final quarter.  Keene State finished the game with a 44-23 advantage in shots taken.

            USM junior long-stick midfield James Soules (Scarborough, Maine) led all players with nine ground balls.  Senior Zach Blauvelt (Lewiston, Maine) won 14 of 24 faceoffs and scooped up six ground balls.

            Southern Maine returns to action on Monday (4:00 p.m.) when it hosts Castleton State College at Hannaford Field.  Keene State is off until Saturday (1:00 p.m.) when travels to Eastern Connecticut State University.

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