KEENE, N.H.— Senior
McKenzy Pierre (West Orange, N.J.) and sophomore
Connor Hanrahan (Naperville, Ill.) scored first-half goals eight minutes apart and the lead stood as Babson College edged Keene State College, 2-1, in the Keene State Kickoff Classic men's soccer tournament Saturday afternoon at Dr. Ron Butcher Field.
With the victory, the Beavers improve to 2-0-0 on the season while the Owls even their record at 1-1-0.
Graduate student
Will Devall (Shoreham, N.Y.) earned the win in goal for the Green and White after making two saves.
Senior William Edmunds (West Kingston, R.I.) scored for Keene State late in the first half. First-year Tomasso Lorrai (Rome, Italy) made three saves in the Owls' goal in the setback.
Devall made a couple of early saves in the first five minutes, but it was Babson that got of the scoreboard first. Graduate student
Drew Stephans (Newton, Mass.) served a ball into the box where a pair of Keene State defenders collided, and Pierre touched the loose ball forward and into an open net for his first goal of the season in the 11th minute.
Less than eight minutes later, the Beavers struck again. After the Owls were unable to clear the ball out of their own zone, Hanrahan collected a loose ball at the top of the box and ripped a shot past a diving Lorrai in the 18th minute for his first goal of the season, doubling the Babson lead.
Keene State sliced the margin in half in the 42nd minute. On the second of two straight corner kicks, a Keene State player flicked a header into the middle of the 6-yard box, creating scramble in front of the net, and Edmunds hit a shot off the left post and in to make it 2-1 heading into the break.
The visitors were on the attack over the first 12 minutes of the second half with three shots but were unable to capitalize as Lorrai made one save, another shot went wide, and Hanrahan's shot hit the post.
Over the next 10 minutes Babson continued to apply the pressure with three corner kicks. The Beavers looked to add an insurance goal, but sophomore Jude Keener (Brentwood, N.H) logged a team save for the Owls to limit Babson's lead. Babson held the Owls without a shot on goal the rest of the second half, while Lorrai made another save in net for KSC.
Babson finished with a 10-7 advantage in shots, including 6-1 in the second half. Keene State ended up with a 6-5 margin in corner kicks.
Day two of the tournament is set with Babson taking on Ramapo at 2 p.m. following the Keene State-John Jay match at 12 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers won their seventh straight against Keene State in the first match between the two sides since 2013, improving to 8-3-3 all-time against the Owls in a series that dates back to 2001.
• Hanrahan has scored in three of his last four games dating back to last season.
• Saturday's game was the first against a team from New Hampshire since defeating New England College 6-0 in September 2019, and the first played in the Granite State since a 1-0 victory at NEC in Henniker in September 2018.
