Owls come back to top Bobcats in men's lacrosse
March 4, 2008

Mike Medeiros '08 scored two goals for the Bobcats. (Photo by RichardOrrSports.com)
LEWISTON, Maine -- Keene State came back from an early three-goal deficit to defeat host Bates College 9-5 in the Owls' season debut on Tuesday at Campus Avenue Field. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Wednesday but was moved up in anticipation of inclement weather.

Tony Santa Fe scored three goals with one assist and Casey Broderson added two back-to-back unassisted goals that gave Keene State the lead for good in the third quarter.

Senior captain Mike Medeiros (Concord, Mass.) scored twice for Bates (0-2), while senior Justin Simon (Canaan, N.H.), junior Alex Cronstein (New York, N.Y.) and junior Sam Geller (Berkeley, Calif.) each had a goal. Simon also added an assist.

Senior captain Craig Blake (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) scooped a team-high nine ground balls and won 6 of 10 faceoffs for Bates.

The Owls were outstanding on defense, holding Bates to 0-for-9 on extra man opportunities, and meanwhile grabbed a 37-22 edge in ground balls.

Keene State goalkeeper Matt Johnson tallied 15 saves; senior captain Will Paddock (Denver, Colo.) stopped nine shots for Bates.

Bates jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three unanswered goals in a span of less than two minutes. Sam Geller scored the opening goal with 9:57 left in the first period, followed immediately by a Justin Simon goal off of the ensuing faceoff and a Medeiros tally at the 8:36 mark.

Ryan Hazelton and Riley Benson closed the gap to 3-2 with unassisted goals, but Simon found Medeiros with 7:15 left in the second period to bump Bates' lead to 4-2.

Santa Fe and Jamie LeSage evened the score for Keene State before halftime at 4-4.

The Owls dominated possession in the third quarter, outshooting the Bobcats 11-4 in the period. After Cronstein's unassisted goal gave Bates a 5-4 lead early in the quarter, Keene State scored five unanswered goals over the remainder of the game, starting with a Josh Nugent goal assisted by Santa Fe to tie the game, and followed by Broderson's two goals and two more by Santa Fe in the fourth quarter.

Bates will host Middlebury College in its NESCAC conference opener on Saturday at 2 p.m.

STATS: Keene State 9, Bates 5