Ryan Hart, a senior midfielder for the Keene State College Men’s Lacrosse team notched his one-hundredth career goal this past weekend, topping off a thrilling weekend for the Owls.
Hart’s one-hundredth goal came on the way to a 23-12 win for KSC over Eastern Connecticut State University, which also brought the Little East Conference championship back to KSC for the second year in a row. When asked about the importance of his milestone, Hart stated, “I was very happy about it, but I was still trying to focus on the game.”
Hart’s focus on the game as a whole and his team-first mentality is what makes him a leader on the squad.
“I’m not a big motivator with words type of guy,” Hart stated. He continued, “But I show up ready to practice every day and work as hard as I can.”
Tyler McKelvie is a junior for the Owls who scored his one-hundredth career goal earlier this season.
Photo illustration by Photo editor Tim Smith
McKelvie stated that Hart shows everyone the way they should be performing when they hit the field.
First-year midfielder for the Owls, Hunter Arnold, said that Hart is one of the hardest working players he’s ever seen. “He’s always making everyone on the field a better player,” Arnold stated.
Arnold also stated that seeing the way Hart leads has provided him with an idea of what he’ll need to do in the future to become a leader for the Owls.
Aside from Hart’s leadership, he was never one to look at his statistics. Hart said he knew he was close to 100 goals thanks to his older brother, who scored exactly 100 goals in his career at KSC.
“He checked my stats and told me how far away I was, but I didn’t really think about it too much and the season went on,” Hart stated.
McKelvie also stated that he knew the one-hundredth goal wouldn’t affect Hart’s play on the field.
“I knew he would be humble and it wouldn’t affect him,” McKelvie stated.
Arnold plays alongside Hart in the midfield, so naturally Hart has become a role model for the young Arnold.
“He is definitely someone I look up to and aspire to be like on and off the lacrosse field,” Arnold stated. “He’s an all around great kid and like I said before he works extremely hard and it shows when he plays.”
McKelvie said it is no surprise the younger guys on the team are looking up to Hart.
“They see how hard he works before and after practice and in the weight room,” McKelvie stated.
“He is also a great student in the classroom and the younger guys look up to that,” McKelvie added.
When asked how Hart has impacted his game, Arnold stated that, “He’s helped me develop and improve drastically.” Arnold goes on to state that Hart was constantly providing Arnold and other younger players with different ways to look at the game.
Arnold also stated that seeing Hart reach the milestone of 100 goals has motivated him to get there as well.
“One-hundred goals is a huge milestone and something that I’m definitely going to strive for,” Arnold said.When asked if he ever thought about scoring 100 career goals, Hart bluntly stated, “Honestly, I never thought about it.”
After beating Western Connecticut State University in the LEC semifinals, the Owls defeated the Eastern Connecticut State University Blue Cats to win the LEC championships and advance to the NCAA national tournament.
Crae Messer can be contacted at emesser@kscequinox.com