Men's Lacrosse Falls at Keene State, 16-8

THE BASICS

Salem State, 8 at Keene State, 16

Records: 

Keene State Owls (4-3)

Salem State Vikings (3-3)

Location: Keene, N.H. - Owl Athletic Complex

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026

THE LEAD: The Salem State men's lacrosse team saw themselves doubled up on the road Saturday at Keene State by falling 16-8. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Keene State's offense started off fast, scoring the first three goals of the contest. However, Salem broke up the momentum at 08:21 when Ryan Jones (Saugus, Mass.) found the back of the net off a nice look from Jaxon Thomas (Beverly, Mass.).
• Despite the Vikings goal, the Owls would continue their offensive pressure in the quarter and tack on three more goals, all by Dylan Seymour to give the hosts a 6-1 lead after one.
• In the early parts of the second, the Vikes cut the deficit in half (6-3) courtesy of goals from Connor Vittands (Gloucester, Mass.) and Cameron Collins (Peabody, Mass.) at 13:46 and 07:59, respectively. Keene responded by adding a goal less than a minute later at 07:08, but Salem once again answered and made it a three-goal game (7-4) thanks to Jones. However, with less than two minutes left (01:47), Jack Ansart made it 8-4 Owls, and the score would remain the same until halftime.
• The third quarter saw lots of back-and-forth play as each side matched the other in goals, 4-4. After a Juan Vidal (Grafton, Mass.) goal made it a four-point game (10-6), Keene doubled up Salem with two scores from Ansart and Seymour. 
• Salem would not go quietly to end the quarter as the squad trimmed the deficit to four (12-8) thanks to Landon Rice (Sturbridge, Mass.) and Vittands to give the squad some momentum going into the fourth.
• Despite Salem's late goals to end the third, Keene would not let Salem get any closer, as the Owls outscored the Vikings, 4-0 in the quarter, to ultimately win, 16-8.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Vittands and Jones were the two Vikings student-athletes to finish with multiple goals at three and two, respectively.
• Ryan Cohen (Bedford, Mass.) had the start in net for the Blue and Orange and took the loss after posting a career-high 28 saves. It is the third time in his career that he has posted a 20-save game.
• Seymour guided the Owls' offense with a game-high six goals on Saturday.
• Andrew Wiegand earned the win in net for Keene today by making four saves.
• Saturday's match-up was the 22nd all-time between the two programs. Keene has currently won the last 18 contests. 

UP NEXT:

Salem continues its road trip next Saturday when the squad travels to Vermont State Castleton for a 1:00 p.m. start time.