Keene State Uses Second Half Surge to Top Western New England in 2017 Season Opener, 16-13

Dudeck leads Golden Bears with three goals, one assist

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 21, 2017) – The Keene State College men's lacrosse team outscored Western New England University 6-2 in the third quarter and 11-6 in the second half on its way to a 16-13 victory in the season opener for both teams this afternoon at Golden Bear Stadium.

Top Performers
• Senior Keegan Dudeck (Longmeadow, Mass.) led the way for the Golden Bears with three goals and one assist.
• Freshman midfielder Nick Gamba (East Islip, N.Y.) enjoyed an impressive collegiate debut, recording a team-high five points with one goal and four assists.
• Junior Marc Fiocco (Somers, N.Y.) went 12-for-21 at the faceoff X and picked up a team-high ten ground balls.

• Junor midfielder Hunter Arnold (Boxborough, Mass.) had a hand in seven of Keene State's 16 goals, scoring three himself and setting up four others.
• Senior Bryan Rotatori (Grafton, Mass.) helped fuel the Owls' second half rally, scoring three of his four goals in the third quarter.

Game Review
• Freshman Oskar Djusberg (Abington, Mass.) staked the Golden Bears to a 1-0 lead just seven seconds into the contest, before Dudeck and senior Max Berteletti (Montgomery, N.Y.) added goals later in the quarter. Rotatori got the Owls on the board with 2:09 remaining in the period as Keene State faced a 3-1 deficit after 15 minutes of action.
• After Western New England restored its three-goal lead on senior Frank Medlicott's (Stanwood, Wash.) first of the season early in the second quarter, Keene State put together a 3-0 run to tie the score at the 6:54 mark. Medlicott, Djusberg and Fiocco all found the back of the net over the final 4:49 of the period as Western New England claimed a 7-5 lead heading into halftime.
• Keene State, which trailed 8-6 after Western New England junior Nicholas Beauchamp's (Wilbraham, Mass.) goal with 9:05 remaining in the third quarter, seized the momentum with a 5-0 run over the next seven minutes that featured two goals from Rotatori and one from Arnold. Gamba got one back for the Golden Bears with 1:08 on the clock, but Western New England trailed 11-9 heading into the final frame.
• Arnold completed his hat trick 40 seconds into the fourth quarter, before assisting on Keene State's next two goals as the Owls built a commanding 14-9 lead with 11:24 remaining.
• Western New England continued to fight back, pulling to within three (14-11) after goals by Beauchamp and Dudeck, but the Golden Bears were unable to complete the comeback. The two teams traded goals late as Keene State held on for the win.

Notes
• Keene State outshot Western New England 55-43.
• Western New England junior goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) finished with 22 saves on 38 shots.
• Junior Preston Stolberg (Highland Park, Ill.) went 10-for-11 at the faceoff X.

Up Next
Western New England (0-1) returns to action on Saturday, March 4 with a non-conference contest against St. Lawrence at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, R.I., while Keene State (1-0) travels to RPI on Saturday.