KEENE, N.H. 10/17/07 - The Keene State College field hockey team moved into sole possession of first place in the Little East Conference with a 3-0 shutout victory over Salem State College on Wednesday night.

Keene's win (12-5, 8-1 LEC) coupled with Plymouth State's 3-1 victory over Southern Maine put the Owls on top of the LEC standings with two games to go.

Karen Robinson (Phillipston, Mass.), Megan Moran (Derry, N.H.), and Amy Dolce (Windham, N.H.) found the back of the net and goalie Vikki Stoessel (Derry, N.H.) turned aside one shot for her first shutout of the season.

Erin Dallas (Marlow, N.H.) also picked up a couple of assists to add to her NCAA (Division III) leading 17 helpers. 

Keene State's junior back Alyssa Rowell (Queensbury, N.Y.) kept it a scoreless game in the early going when she made a defensive save on a shot by Viking midfielder Sarah Quimby (Turner, Me.). 

After intercepting the ball, KSC's Carly Benning (Brewster, Mass.) went by a couple of Viking defenders, but her shot was stopped by Jessica McKenna (Rowley, Mass.), who came out to break down the angle.
 

Robinson gave Keene State a 1-0 lead with 10 seconds to play in the half.  Robinson took a pass from  Dallas and blasted a shot by McKenna for her sixth goal of the season. Robinson had a chance to add to KSC's lead early in the second half, but McKenna came out and made a sprawling save on her bid.

Moran put the Owls up 2-0 at the 40:32 mark with a shot from the left side of the goal.
 

Dolce made it 3-0 with a fine individual effort.  The freshman forward pounced on a rebound and put the ball into the far corner for her fourth goal of the season.
McKenna finished with five saves for the Vikings (7-6, 5-4 LEC).

KSC has won the last eight meetings between the two teams, including a first-round LEC tournament game last season.

Both teams play LEC games on Saturday.  Keene State is at Fitchburg State and Salem State returns home to face Western Conn.