The Plymouth State Men’s Lacrosse team lost a tough match to rival Keene State College. The game ended in favor of the Keene State Owls 18-10, and put the Panthers at an overall record of 8-4 with a 3-3 conference mark. The victory put KSC’s overall record just over .500 at 7-6, but they remain undefeated within the conference with a solid 6-0 record.
Keene State started the game strong scoring three quick goals in a row in the first quarter, making it tough early on for the Panthers. PSU was able to capitalize late in the first when Chris Annunciata (Waltham, MA) dished the ball to Nick Pino (N. Andover, MA) who was able to find the back of Keene’s net.
When the second quarter came around, things went sour quick for the Panthers as they allowed Keene to score 10 early goals. Plymouth was able to sneak a few past the Owls, but not enough to grab momentum after the quarter. Going into halftime, the scoreboard was lopsided with Keene leading Plymouth 13-4.
The third quarter fell in favor of the Panthers as they were able to cut the score thanks to three goals compared to Keene’s one. With the score cut in half at 14-7, the Panthers looked to shine some light while heading into the match’s final quarter.
The Panthers would be the one to strike first in the fourth, thanks to a Phil Pichel (Hopkington, MA) goal five minutes into the quarter. Although PSU started to creep up on the Owls, they were still no match for KSC’s high-powered offense. The team in red was on all cylinders the whole game and was able to generate enough offensive fire power to secure a comfortable lead. As the clock hit zero, the score board read a final score of 18-10 in favor of Keene.
Despite the loss, Plymouth remained the victor on faceoffs, winning 24 out of 31 thanks to Senior, Scott Giusti (W. Newton, MA), who completed 17 of his own. Pino had the hot hand for the Panthers, nearly scoring a double hat-trick with five goals and also dishing off another two assists.
PSU looks to get back to their winning ways when they head to Eastern Connecticut University this Saturday to play in a 1:00 pm day game.