KEENE, N.H. 9/1/10 – The Keene State College field hockey team, led by a balanced scoring attack, defeated the Western New England College Golden Bears 3-1 at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday night. Juniors Niki Smith (Southwick, Mass.) and Aislynn Sherry (Rehobeth, Mass.) each netted goals in the season opener and freshman Katlyn Simula (Bridgewater, N.H.) earned her first collegiate goal late in the first half to lead the Owls.

The Owls controlled the pace for most of the first-half, and finally found the back of the net after a few breakaway and clear shot chances at the 13:48 mark. Smith took a great crossing pass from junior forward Jacki Benson (Hampstead, N.H.) to beat Kaitlyn Hall (Pawtucket, R.I.) to give KSC a 1-0 lead.

"It was hard for us to score at first because someone has to pick up the slack for Carly Benning, said KSC head coach Amy Watson. "I knew it was going to take us some time to find our scoring but as the game went on I think we did a good job of that."

Almost 15 minutes later, Simula stepped up to the penalty stroke line after a Golden Bear defender illegally touched the ball before it went in to the net. Simula buried the shot past the dive of Hall for her first strike as a member of the Owls. "She's one of the best on the team at penalty shots," said Watson. "It was her first game and I figured she might be nervous, but she handled it real well and found the back of the net."

Minutes into the second half, Sherry capitalized on her third scoring chance, by boxing out the Western New England defenders and tucking the ball in the bottom right corner for KSC's third goal of the game.

At the 52:04 mark, the Golden Bears got on the board when freshman midfielder Sarah Race (Cazenovia, N.Y.) chipped in a goal past the dive of senior goaltender Meghan Ledoux (Standish, Maine) for WNEC's lone goal in the 3-1 Owls victory.

Making her first start for the Owls, Ledoux played well in goal, making six saves and allowing just one goal in the victory, while Hall made seven saves but allowed three goals in the losing effort.

"Meg is a very aggressive and athletic goaltender," said Watson. "She's excited to have her senior year to be our top goalie and I think she is going to do real well for us."

KSC outshot WNEC 23-10 in the game, including 13-4 in the second-half.

The Owls return to action Saturday, with a home game against Husson College starting at 1 p.m. The Golden Bears play again on September 7th, with a road match against Westfield State.