Muratsuka Scores Twice, Owls Hold off Keene 3-1

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year forward Kiana Muratsuka (Mililani, Hawaii) was involved in all three scoring plays, collecting two goals and an assist to power the Owls past Keene State 3-1 on Wednesday night from Keene, N.H.

Westfield improves to 2-3 on the year while Keene drops to 2-2 overall.

The Owls offense jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage, scoring a pair of goals within the first ten minutes of the game. Westfield generated their first goal off a free kick from Katie Slattery (Wilbraham, Mass.) who lofted a pass into the box to Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass.) who one-touched a pass between the legs of a Keene defender to a crashing Muratsuka for her second goal of the year.

Westfield doubled their lead 1:38 later with Muratsuka setting up Jaida Cochran (Middleboro, Mass.) with a through ball down the far side of the field to give the Owls a 2-0 lead that would hold into halftime.

Keene State cut the Owls lead in half at the 72^nd minute with Alexa Skinner (Goffstown, N.H.) placing a low shot past Sarah Fuller (Weymouth, Mass.) to make it a 2-1 game.

With just over ten minutes to play in regulation, the Owls capitalized on a Keene turnover backed into their own defensive third as Muratsuka corralled an errant pass from outside the box, then launched a shot towards the far post that got past Keene goalkeeper Sonia Moritz (Silver Spring, Md.) to ultimately secure the victory.

Westfield held off a late second half surge from Keene, fending off four corner kicks late in the half to preserve the win. Fuller was strong in net, stopping four saves in the match. Moritz and Riley Andriski (Newmarket, N.H.) split time in net with Moritz recording five second-half saves. Andriski posted one save in three shot attempts.

After starting the season with five straight road or neutral games, the Owls will come home for their next game as the Owls host Mass. Maritime in the MASCAC opener on Saturday at noon from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.