KEENE, NH - An impressive streak came to a close on Saturday afternoon as UMass Boston Men's Lacrosse dropped their first Little East Conference matchup since the 2019, losing to Keene State College by a final score of 15-8.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 8, Keene State College 15

UMass Boston (9-5, 4-1 LEC)
Keene State College (7-4, 5-0 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Beacons' offensive attack got off to an uncharacteristically slow start on Saturday. Jacob Banks opened the scoring for UMass Boston but not until over eight minutes had ticked off the clock and Keene State had built a 4-0 lead.

Banks' goal would be the team's only score of the first half as they went on to get shut out in the second quarter. The Owls took a commanding 9-1 lead into halftime. 

The Beacons' usual suspects got in on the scoring in the third quarter. Second-leading goal scorer Connor Smith and leading goal scorer Gavin Admirand each netted a man-up goal before connecting for Smith's second. With just under seven minutes left in the frame, the Beacons cut the KSC lead to 9-4.

A Banks goal at the third quarter buzzer and a Charlie Chapman goal to open the fourth negated the Owls' two third quarter scores. With 14 minutes left to play, the Beacons still trailed 11-6.

Banks and Smith each capped off hat tricks in the fourth, but it would be too little too late for the Beacons who lost 15-8, their first LEC defeat since the 2019 Conference Tournament. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons' conference win streak dated back to May 3 of 2019, a 21-14 loss at the hands of Plymouth State in the conference tournament semifinals
• Matt Lucozzi won 14 of his 21 faceoffs on Saturday
  • The Beacons' three faceoff specialists, Lucozzi, Jason McNeany, and Jack DiFalco-Wheeler rank top three in the LEC in terms of faceoff win percentage among players with more than 10 attempts
• Smith's hat trick was his 10th of the season
• The Beacons loss drops their all-time record against Keene State to 5-25

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Danbury, Connecticut on Wednesday night to face the Wolves of Western Connecticut in a 7 pm start. They have won their last eight meetings with WestConn.