NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. 10/30/10 – Freshman Katlyn Simula's (Bridgewater, N.H.) penalty corner goal at the 19:17 mark of the first half was the difference in Keene State's 1-0 upset victory over UMass-Dartmouth in Little East Conference field hockey action on Saturday.

Keene State (15-5, 8-3 LEC), which concludes its regular season with a four game winning streak, will be the fourth seed in the upcoming LEC tournament and host fifth seed Fitchburg State on Tuesday ( 6p.m.).

It was the first LEC loss of the season for UMass-Dartmouth (12-7, 10-1 LEC) which will be the top seed in the tournament. 

Taking a pass from junior back Kerry Howe (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.), Simula blasted a shot from the right side of the circle that deflected off a Corsair defender into the net.  "It was exciting," said Simula about her game-winner and third goal of the season.  "I was surprised it was the only goal of the game."

UMD, which had a 12-4 advantage in corner opportunities, had numerous chances to get the equalizer, but the KSC defense held the fort.

"The defense was key," said senior midfielder Leigh Smith (Sanborton, N.H.)  "We stepped up our game.  Every single player on the backline was amazing."   

"Our defense was solid," said KSC Coach Amy Watson. "It was a great team defensive effort."

 KSC prevailed despite being outshot 11-4.

Senior Meghan Ledoux (Standish, Me.) made nine saves to notch her sixth shutout of the season.  Corsair goalie Lauren O'Brien stopped one shot.

"This win can only help us going into the tournament," said Watson. "You want to be putting together stops at the end of the season. The most important thing at this point of the season is to be playing well." 

Keene State lost to UMD in overtime (3-2) in last year's LEC championship game.