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Owls blank Pride 2-0
KEENE , N.H. 9/9/09 - The Keene State men's soccer team scored a goal in each half en route to a 2-0 non-conference victory over Springfield College at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.
Freshman Joe Senecal (Manchaug, Mass.) and sophomore Cam Blair (Keene, N.H.) found the back of the net for the Owls (2-2), who snapped a two game skid.
Springfield College drops to 1-2.
Senecal gave KSC a 1-0 lead when he knocked in a rebound at the 20:09 mark. "Someone flicked it over to me and I was at the right time at the right place," said Senecal about his game-winner and second goal of the season.
Freshman Shawn Shand (Keene, N.H.) had a chance to extend the Owls lead, but he was denied by SC freshman goalie Chris Walton (Cromwell, Conn.), who stopped his shot by going airborne to deny his bid.
Blair scored a key insurance goal at the 79:17 mark of the second half when he buried a rocket into the far corner of the net to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
"I told Shawn let's work together like we used to do in (Keene) high school and found me right in the middle. I had enough space to turn and tucked it in," said Blair about his first goal of the season. "It felt good when I hit it."
Senior Peter Kersker (Ipswich, Mass.), who made five save to notch his first shutout of the season game credit to his defense. "The defense played well tonight and helped me preserve the shutout," said Kersker. "As long as we come out and play like that, we have good things to look forward to this season."
"We're still a work in progress, bringing up freshmen and trying them out," said KSC Coach Ron Butcher, who gave kudos to freshen Kyle Bennett (Concord, N.H.) and Matt Murray (Canton, Mass.), who were playing their first games. "Blake Nyman (Plymouth, Mass.) was the man of the match and came up big defensively."
Walton, the Pride's freshman goalie, finished the game with six saves.
The Owls had the advantage in shots (21-9) and corner kicks (6-3).
Both teams have non-conference games on Saturday. The owls head to Wheaton College and the Pride return home to face Elms College.
