KEENE, N.H. 11/2/11 – Keene State College senior forward Elizabeth Coffin (Sugar Hill, N.H.) netted four goals, as the Owls rolled to a 7-0 victory over the University of Southern Maine in the Little East Conference Quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Owl Athletic Complex.

With the victory Keene State advances to the semifinal round and will host Westfield State University on Friday night at 6 p.m. at Owl Athletic Complex. "Westfield gave us a tight match," KSC head coach Amy Watson. "We only beat them 1-0 so we know it's going to be a battle and we have to show up ready for it."

Westfield State defeated Bridgewater State 5-1 on the road to advance to Friday night's game against Keene State.

The Owls (17-4) struck early in the game and settled into a groove right away. "It's always nice when you score early," said Watson. "Our confidence level went up right away and we got to play how we like to play, getting our bench some solid playing time so their confidence goes up as well."

On KSC's first penalty corner, the Owls deposited their first goal of the game, as sophomore Aimee Donaruma (Hampden, Mass.) laid down a nice pass to junior midfielder Alexandra Billert (Center Conway, N.H.) that she rifled past the Huskies netminder for the 1-0 lead just over two minutes into the game.

Coffin would then go on a scoring spree, netting Keene State's next four goals, with the last coming just over a minute into the second half, to give the Owls a 5-0 lead. "Izzy (Coffin) is playing really well," said Watson. "When she is on, she is a really special player and she was on tonight."

Coffin's fourth goal of the game, improved her standings on KSC's all time scoring list, moving her into a tie for fifth place all-time with Carly Benning with 124 career points.

Billert and local product Stephanie Morse (Harrisville, N.H.)  added unassisted second-half goals 49 seconds apart , as the Owls coasted to the 7-0 victory.

Both Donaruma and sophomore back Katlyn Simula (Bridgewater, N.H.) each added two assists, while senior defender Kerry Howe (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) picked up her fifth assist of the season on Coffin's first goal, off a designed corner.

Southern Maine's best scoring chance of the night came with just over 30 minutes in the second half, as freshman midfielder Amethyst Hersom (Biddeford, Maine) found herself all alone just inside the circle and ripped a shot that KSC freshman netminder Caitlin Davino-Draper (Hanover, Mass.) turned aside.

Draper played the first 43:10 in net for the Owls, stopping three shots, giving way to freshman D.J. Cassidy (Lowell, Mass.) for the final 26:50 in which she turned aside the only shot she faced. USM sophomore goalies Kayla Kennedy (Windham, Maine) and Lindsey Fortin (Berwick, Maine) split time in net. Kennedy stopped two shots and allowed five goals, while Fortin stopped five and allowed the final two KSC goals.

The Owls outshot the Huskies 21-8 in the contest, including 11-2 in the first half and also held the advantage in penalty corners at 9-2.