KEENE, N.H. 10/23/10 – Junior forwards Elizabeth Coffin (Sugar Hill, N.H.) and Niki Smith (Southwick, Mass.) scored second half goals and senior goalie Meghan Ledoux (Standish, Maine) made three saves to lead the Keene State field hockey team to a 2-0 shutout victory over Fitchburg State on Senior Day at Owl Athletic Complex on Saturday.

The win enabled Keene State (12-5, 7-3 LEC) to stay ahead of Fitchburg State (9-6, 6-4) in fourth place in the LEC standings. Fitchburg saw its two game winning streak come to an end. "It was important for us to secure fourth place in the LEC standings and get a home first-round game,' said KSC Coach Amy Watson.  "We had a couple of tough losses on the road and really needed to come in here and get a conference win."

After a scoreless first half, Smith gave Keene State a 1-0 lead at the 44:33 mark when she tipped a shot past Falcon sophomore goalie Abbie Brown (Westwood, Mass.) for her fourth goal of the season. "Chelsea (Blackmer gave me a good cross to me and I was in good position," said Smith.  "We needed this win to get us moving."

Coffin was at the right place at the right time to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.  "The ball got tipped and went right to my stick, "said Coffin about her team-leading 21st goal of the season.  There was someone in front of me, but I was able to get my stick on it."

KSC out shot Fitchburg State 11-5 and had a 12-5 advantage in corner opportunities.

It was the fourth shutout of the season for Ledoux.  Brown finished the game with four saves.

Prior to the game, KSC honored its five seniors:  Patty Pomerleau (Turner, Maine), Leigh Smith (Sanborton, N.H.), Kellie Warning (Putnam Valley, N.Y.), Chelsea Blackmer (Boylston, Mass.) and Ledoux. "You always want to win on senior day," said Watson.  "It starts off happy and you want it to end that way."

The Owls wrap up their home regular season schedule with a non-conference game against New England College on Tuesday. Fitchburg hosts Becker College on Wednesday.