Second Half Decisive For Women's Lacrosse in 14-10 Loss at Keene State

KEENE, N.H.— The Emmanuel Saints were outscored 9-5 in the second half of Saturday's non-conference game at Keene State as women's lacrosse fell to the unbeaten Owls, 14-10, at the Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State: 4-0
• Emmanuel (Mass.): 1-3

How it Happened

For the fourth time in as many games to start the season, the Owls opened the scoring in the contest, as they scored a pair of goals in the opening 2:37 of play, with the first coming from Tess Brown assisting Chase Gengras for a goal, and Haile Ratajack scoring the second goal, unassisted. Later in the first, after Elle Lyons caused a turnover for the Owls on defense, Mindy St. Marie took advantage of a man-up free-position shot opportunity by firing a shot between the legs of the Saints' goalkeeper, Isabella Thomas, and into the back of the net, putting the Owls up 3-0. Emmanuel did not let KSC's lead get too far ahead of them, as Abby Brown scored a free-position goal with 3:35 left in the first, and Avery Robillard scored just 19 second later, after winning the draw control, to bring the Saints to within one. Neither team scored the rest of the quarter, as Gengras' shot rang off the post in the final seconds.
 
The Owls opened the second with a man-up advantage following a green card on the Saints at the end of the first, and St. Marie once again took advantage of it on a free-position attempt, just 16 seconds into the quarter, as she scored her second goal of the contest. Emmanuel came back to tie the game up at four apiece with 5:55 left in the opening half, thanks to a goal from each Maddie Kross, and Livia Fedele, and a pair of saves in net from Thomas, across the nine minutes after St. Marie's goal. A minute after Fedele's tying goal, Lola Smith weaved through the Saints' defenders and sent a shot past Thomas to put the Owls back ahead by one. Although, just 20 seconds later, Fedele netted another tying goal, on a man-up free-position shot, which brought the game to five apiece. Madeline Wright tried to give the Saints their first lead on the day, on a free-position shot with 13 seconds left in the half, but Mabelle Bessette made a save to keep the game knotted at five heading into the second half. 
 
For the third quarter in a row, the Owls opened the scoring in the third, as Brown spun around the EC defender and fired a shot into the goal, giving the Owls the lead back, just 1:33 into the second half. Thomas made a save on the Owls' next shot attempt nearly two minutes later, but she was unable to stop another, as Ratajack sent a shot past her to put KSC back up a pair. Madeline Wright won the ensuing draw control and then netted a goal of her own for EC, just 34 seconds after Ratajack's to bring the Saints to within one. 29 seconds later, Ella Marschitz netted a man-up goal for the Saints to tie the game up at seven apiece with 9:35 left in the third. The Owls regained the lead shortly after as Annaliese Rudberg flew through Emmanuels' defenders, jumped, and shot it past Thomas to put the Owls back ahead on the man-up goal. After Lyons caused a turnover on defense for KSC on the ensuing possession for the Saints, it led to Ratajack netting a free-position man-down goal, putting the Owls back up a pair of goals. Two minutes later, Ratajack caused a turnover on defense for KSC, which led to another goal for herself on the other end of the field, as Hayden Smith assisted her for the third consecutive KSC goal. Emmanuel ended the Owls' scoring streak with 1:04 left in the third, thanks to a man-up goal from Dejaliyah Srimouksavanh, but the Owls scored last in the quarter, as St. Marie scored with four second left, to bring the score to 11-8 for the Owls, heading into the final quarter.
 
The Saints opened the scoring in the fourth, as Fedele caused a turnover on an Owl clear attempt, and then scored a goal to bring EC to within two with 13:20 to play. The Owls responded to the Saints' goal with three of their own over the next 10 minutes, as Hayden Smith scored a free-position goal, then her sister, Lola Smith, scored a man-down goal from Ratajack, and finally Ratajack put the nail in the coffin by scoring a man-up free-position goal with 3:39 left to play. Srimouksav scored the final game of the contest with 34 seconds remaining, as the Owls held on for the 14-10 win.  
 
Inside the Crease

• With the win, the Owls lead the all-time series between the two schools, as it was the first time the two teams have ever played.
• KSC continues their fantastic start to their 2024 campaign, as they improve to 4-0 for the first time in program history.
• Ratajack led all scorers with six points, coming from five goals and an assist.
• Brown had game-highs in both caused turnovers, with eight, and ground balls, with nine.
• Both Smith sisters each tallied a pair of points, with Lola scoring a pair of goals and Hayden logging a goal and an assist.

 
Up Next

Keene State plays in their final game before their spring break trip, as they will host Smith College on Tuesday, March 12, at 7:00 PM.
Emmanuel College plays in their first home game of 2024 in their next contest, as they will host Worcester State University on Thursday, March 14, at 7:00 PM.

**Release courtesy Keene State Athletic Communications Office