Box Score Keene State Rolls Past Southern Maine 25-5
GORHAM, Maine -- Senior Tyler McKelvie (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) scored a game-high six points on five goals and one assist as the visiting Keene State College Owls rolled past the University of Southern Maine Huskies 25-5 in a Little East Conference men's lacrosse match Saturday afternoon at Hannaford Field.
The win was the fifth straight for the Owls who improved to 8-3 overall. The Owls remained undefeated in conference play through three games. The Huskies dropped their second straight game falling back to .500 at 5-5 overall. The Huskies are winless in three Little East games this spring.
Junior Rob Hart (Londonderry, N.H.) complemented McKelvie scoring four goals and dishing out an assist. Classmate Bryan Rotatori (Grafton, Mass.) and senior Berek Martichuski (Arapahoe, Colo.) each had three goals and two assists. Twelve different players earned a point for the Owls during the game.
Sophomore Mathew Howe (Bedford, N.H.) and senior Alex Sharp (Winchester, Mass.) split the goaltending duties for the Owls. Howe recorded seven saves in the first half while Sharp stopped eight shots in the second half.
Sophomore Nate DelGiudice (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) had two goals, and junior Seth Wing (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) had a goal and one assist, to lead the Huskies who did all their scoring in the first half. Sophomores Zach Bessette (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) and John Bossi (Billerica, Mass.) each took a turn in goal for USM. Bessette played three quarters stopping six shots while Bossi had one save in the final quarter.
Southern Maine scored three goals in a span of 1:12 to offset a marker by McKelvie and close a five-goal deficit down to three at 8-5. DelGiudice ignited the Huskies' outburst with his first goal at 8:12. After McKelvie responded for the Owls, DelGiudice and senior Austin Watts (Westbrook, Maine) found the net 32 seconds apart to give the Huskies some momentum.
Hart quickly took away the USM momentum with two goals in the next 44 seconds to spark a run of six consecutive KSC goals before the halftime horn sounded. Rotatori scored twice around a goal from sophomore Frank Bacarella (Monroe, Conn./Masuk), and McKelvie tallied one to make it 14-5 at the break.
The Owls would shut out the Huskies in the second half and add 11 more goals to their total to turn the game into a rout.
Keene State rolled up a 52-29 edge in shots and had a 40-33 advantage in ground balls. The Owls also converted on 3-of-6 man-up situations.
Southern Maine is back in action on Wednesday (4:00 p.m.) hosting Salem State University for a Little East Conference match. Keene State travels to in-state rival Plymouth State University on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.) for an LEC match.
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