Owls to Face Eastern Conn. in Pivotal LEC Lacrosse Games

            KEENE, N.H. 4/18/08 - Keene State men's and women's lacrosse team will face Eastern Connecticut in pivotal Little East Conference games on Saturday.

            Sitting on top of the LEC standing the Owl men (7-1, 4-0 LEC) will have to take care of business on the road, taking on the second place Warriors (8-5, 3-0 LEC) in Mansfield, Conn.  The upstart second place KSC women (9-4, 3-0 LEC) hosts the front-running Warriors (6-6, 4-0 LEC) at Owl Athletic Complex. Both games begin at 1 p.m.

            Moving to a varsity program in 1998, KSC men lost its first 10 games they played against Eastern, including the first three by an aggregate score of 68-5. 

            The tables have turned in the LEC in recent years with KSC men taking over as the team to beat. The Warriors claimed the first four LEC titles, before KSC snapped the Warriors champion run with an 11-4 victory in the 2005 LEC finals.

            Eastern Conn. came back to recapture the championship (14-12) against a young Owl team in 2006. Keene State took back the championship in convincing fashion last season with an 18-6 win.

            Saturday's game will go along way in determining the regular season champ and who gets to host the tournament championship.

            "It's definitely our most important game of the season," said KSC Coach Mark Theriault.  "There's so much riding on the outcome."

            After winning its first seven games of the season and earning a national ranking (18th), KSC hit s road block on Tuesday with a 13-4 loss to Williams College.

            Theriault said he will use the loss to rally his troops.  "It gave us a little bit of humble pie," he said.  "If we don't show up to play, we're going to lose."

            The Keene State women have also had a tough time beating the Warriors.  In 13 previous meetings, the Owls have only one win to show for themselves, a sudden death 17-16 victory in the 2004 ECAC Championship game. 

            Keene State comes into the riding a program-tying six game winning streak.       "I think we're all ready for it," said senior captain Molly Corcoran of Concord.  "We're really focused for the game and really want it."

            "It's going to be a hard-nosed, gritty game," said KSC Coach Michelle Mason, who scored the game-winner against the Warriors in the 2004 ECAC finals.  "If we show up, I have no doubt that we'll come out on top."