Owls Host RIC in LEC Finals Sunday

KEENE, N.H. 11/6/10 –  Top seeded Keene State College will host third-seed Rhode Island College in the Little East Conference men’s soccer championship game at Owl Athletic Complex on Sunday (1 p.m.).

The Owls (13-4-2) had an unusual path to the finals, having to beat fourth seed UMass-Dartmouth twice to earn their championship berth.  After UMD protested Wednesday’s 2-1 semifinal win, the NCAA upheld the Corsairs protest of an inadvertent whistle and ordered the game to be replayed. The two teams battled for the second time on Friday with the same results.

Rhode Island College (11-6-1) and second seed Eastern Conn. played to a scoreless tie in their semifinal game. The Anchormen advanced to the finals after edging the Warriors 5-4 in penalty kicks.

KSC Coach Ron Butcher feels the added days of rest for the RIC players won’t be a factor in Sunday’s title game.  “We’re in a grove and they’ve been sitting around,” he said.  “At this stage of the season everybody’s a little banged up, but both teams will be ready to play.  They know what’s on the line.”

The winner of Sunday’s championship game earns the LEC’s automatic NCAA tournament berth.

Keene State, which slipped by RIC 1-0 in a regular season overtime game earlier this season, have faced the Anchormen three time in LEC tournament play.  KSC won all three meetings, defeating Rhode Island College in quarterfinal games in 2003 (2-0) and 2006 (3-0) and in the 2004 finals (3-1).

KSC has won five LEC crowns (1999, 2001, 20002, 2004, and 2006). RIC’s lone title came in 2008.