Canton, NY – Thanks to a pair of second half goals, the Clarkson University Men’s Soccer team defeated Keene State College 2-1 in the second round of the LOTTO Classic, the first time that the Golden Knights have started the season with three straight victories since the 1990 season.

The Golden Knights, at 3-0, will face another challenge on Wednesday when they host Plattsburgh State at Clarkson Field. Keene State dropped to 1-2 on the season.

Keene got on the scoreboard first when Shawn Shand was awarded a penalty kick and converted in the 27th minute, as the two teams played a very even game.

In the second half, the Knights were able to break through when Matias Pena (Port Washington, NY) sent a pass to Mark Secko (Shoreham, NY), who then beat his defender down the line and scored his team-high fifth goal of the season at 61:58.

With less than seven minutes remaining in the contest, the Knights scored the game-winner as junior captain Scott Desmond (Enfield, CT) passed the ball into the middle where classmate Andrew Ensinger (Rochester, NY) was able to volley the ball in for his second score of the season.

Adam Lamoureux (Falmouth, ME) and Saverino Spagnolo (Ottawa, ONT) combined on the victory, each coming through with three saves. Peter Kersher made 10 saves for Keene State. Clarkson finished the game with narrow leads in both shots (19-15) and corner kicks (6-4).

Three Clarkson players were picked for the All-Tournament team, including Secko, Nate Hazen (Dalton, MA) and Justin White (Rochester, NY).