PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Third-seeded Plymouth State University and fifth-seeded Keene State College won their respective 2025 Little East Conference (LEC) Men’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament First Round games Tuesday night. The Panthers cruised past sixth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University, while the Owls upset fourth-seeded Massachusetts Maritime.
The Owls will next head to top-seeded Western Connecticut State University for a 4 p.m. LEC Semifinal match up. The defending LEC champion Panthers will head to second-seeded UMass Boston Thursday for a 7 p.m. LEC Semifinal contest.
No. 3 Plymouth State 19, No. 6 Eastern Connecticut 6
Crosby Fay recorded game-highs of nine goals and 10 points to lead the Panthers past the Warriors. Ryan Jones added three goals with two assists, while Brady Hunt dished out a game-high five assist in the contest. Aiden Renner was 12-of-17 on faceoffs, while Leif Charbonneau was 8-of-12 on faceoffs.
Ethan Schena totaled eight saves and five goals allowed over his _ to earn the win in goal for PSU. Matt Montoya stopped four of the five shots on target he faced over the final .
Tanner Drobish led the Warriors with three goals, while Kyle Boss found the back of the net two times. Connor Chirico had a goal and two assists for a three-point game, while Gregory Hilinski had 13 saves in taking the loss in goal for Eastern Connecticut.
The Panthers had a 51-30 advantage in shots for the game, while included a 33-18 edge in shots on goal. PSU won 20-of-29 faceoffs and held a 30-13 margin in ground balls.
No. 5 Keene State 14, No. 4 Massachusetts Maritime 11
The two teams traded scoring bursts throughout the first half, which was tied at six after Scott MacKinnon scored his first of the game for the Bucs with 5:20 left in the second quarter. The Owls Then regained the lead for good with a three-goal run to close the half, giving Keene State a 9-6 lead. Ben Turkey opened the run, which was followed by goals from Nicholas McNulty and Tim Souza, with the later just beating the horn that ended the period.
Kyle Shanahan pulled Massachusetts Maritime back within two with his tally 1:50 into the third quarter, but that was as close at the Bucs would get the rest of the way. Souza found the back of the net midway through the third to trigger a four-goal run for Keene State that put the game out of reach. It was capped by Henry Frechette’s man-up goal 3:20 into the fourth quarter.
Souza finished with a game-high four goals to lead the Owls, while Giacomo Tendone finished with two goals and two assists for four points. Jack Ansart added two goals with one helper, while Dylan Florian racked up 16 saves to earn the decision in goal.
Braeden Kosiewicz and Joe Vricella both had multi-goal games for the hosts with two each. Eddie Keler had just seven saves while taking the loss in goal.
The Bucs outshot the Owls 43-39 in the game and won 20-of-28 faceoffs, with Brian Rocher going 19-for-27.