KEENE, N.H. 9/29/10 – The Keene State College field hockey team, led by two goals from juniors   Elizabeth Coffin (Sugar Hill, N.H.), Jacki Benson (Hampstead, N.H.) and Aislynn Sherry (Rehobeth, Mass.), defeated the Westfield State Owls 7-0 on Wednesday night at Owl Athletic Complex.

With the win the Keene State Owls improve to 8-2 on the year and 3-1 in LEC play, while the Westfield State Owls fall to 4-5 and 1-3 in league play.

KSC jumped out to a fast start, scoring four goals in the games first 13:45. Benson started the scoring just over a minute a half into the game by taking a great cross from Coffin around the goaltender for a wide open net and a 1-0 lead.

Sherry netted her first goal of the contest at the 9:50 mark, dribbling around a Westfield defender before beating goaltender Amanda McCarthy (Franklin, Mass.) for the 2-0 lead.

Coffin then entered the scoring column at the 12:10 and 13:45 marks to give KSC a 4-0 advantage. The first goal Benson returned the favor to Coffin on a nice cross into the circle to find the back of the net. Coffin then added an unassisted tally after taking the ball away from a Westfield defender and drilling the ball into the goal.

In the second half the Owls continued to apply pressure, as Sherry added her second goal of the game as she deflected a shot from Mary Dematteo (Northford, Conn.) into the net for a 5-0 lead at the 44:35 mark. The assist was Dematteo's first career point.

Westfield had their best scoring chance of the night with 17:45 remaining in the game, as freshman forward Sarah Pliszka (Enfield, Conn.) had two point blank shots on KSC senior goalie Meghan Ledoux (Standish, Maine), but Ledoux was up to the challenge, setting aside the two shots to keep the shutout alive.

With just under thirteen minutes remaining, Benson added her second tally of the night, off a pass from junior defender Kerry Howe (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) for the 6-0 lead.

At the 63:09 mark, KSC added their final goal of the contest, and Dematteo's first goal of her career, as she took the ball away from the Westfield midfielders and rifled a shot from just inside the circle for the 7-0 LEC win.

The KSC Owls outshot Westfield 30-12, and held a 10-6 advantage in corners.

Ledoux made six saves in the shutout, while McCarthy made 14 saves in the losing effort.

Keene State hits the road this Saturday, for a 4 p.m. start against Western Conn. State. Westfield State plays next on Saturday at Southern Maine for an LEC matchup at 4 p.m.