Owls, Vikings Play to 1-1 Draw On Senior Night

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

SALEM, Mass. -- Olivia Henke (Holbrooke, N.Y.) scored her first career goal and keeper Lily Pfefferle (St. Paul, Minn.) made 11 saves as Salem State and Keene State played to a 1-1 draw on "Senior Night" at Alumni Field on Tuesday evening. The Vikings go to 4-8-2 on the season while the Owls are now 7-3-6.    

The Vikings honored the five members of their senior class, Sydney Durkin (Dracut, Mass.), Macy Hudzik (Dracut, Mass.), Cassandra Harrington (Boylston, Mass.), Lily Pfefferle (St. Paul, Minn.) and Hannah Magee (Salem, Mass.) before the game for their dedication and commitment to the program.

Morgan Prates (Colchester, Conn.) struck first for Keene State, as the Owls took an early 1-0 lead. Despite taking 11 first half shots Pfefferle kept Keene State out of the net for the remainder of the half as Salem State trailed by just a goal, 1-0 at halftime. The Vikings' defense turned it up a notch in the second half as play remained even until Henke tied the game at 1-1 on an assist from Brenna Paquette (Hudson, N.H.) in the 52nd minute. Pfefferle did the rest, making fours stops to post a second half shutout to preserve the tie.

Riley Andriski (Newmarket, N.H.) stopped five shots for Keene State.  

After the game, head coach Nicolle Wood talked about tying Keene State, who is undefeated in the Little East Conference. "They are on the top of their conference right now and they're good, they're always good. I really think that we have been playing better, but I think the sense of urgency (in) getting a good result tonight was because of how much respect the team has for the seniors. They wanted to get a win on "Senior Night," but we couldn't convert a couple of good looks. Lily then came up with some big saves like she has been doing, but it was good soccer tonight."

Senior goalie Lily Pfefferle talked about the significance of playing on "Senior Night."  "Since this is my last year we all depend on each other and we all rely on each other. This team is like a family. We played for our sisters and it was great."