Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Keene State College sophomore Sami Smith scored the second of her two goals in the 80th minute to lift the Owls to a 2-1 overtime victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in a NCAA Division III field hockey match played on a rain-soaked Cressy Field.
Keene State College generated the golden scoring opportunity in the 80th minute, when freshman Mariah Barnett raced down the left flank and zipped a crossing pass through the crease. Smith redirected the decisive tally into the vacant net for her team-leading 13th goal of the season.
The Owls (16-4) completed the conference circuit with an unblemished 11-0 mark to earn the top seed and home field advantage throughout the upcoming 2014 Little East Conference Field Hockey Championship Tournament. KSC will welcome eighth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State on Tuesday, November 4.
The Corsairs (10-10) slipped to 7-4 in conference action to secure the No. 3 seed and a home contest in the quarterfinal round. UMass Dartmouth will host sixth-seeded Worcester State University (10-8) on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
UMass Dartmouth unleashed the first seven shots of the match, only to see the visitors score their only goal of regulation on their first attempt. In the 16th minute, Smith was able to create a small window of distance along the right flank, and ripped a frozen laser inside the far, upper corner of the cage.
The Corsairs wasted little time in forging a one-all tie, responding in the 21st minute. Sophomore Michaela Carrier inserted a penalty corner to senior Chelsey Campbell at the top of the arc. Campbell drove an attempt to the left of the cage, where junior Jill Levrault redirected the equalizer into the back of the net. It was Levrault's 12th marker of the year.
UMass Dartmouth had myriad opportunities to seize control of the match, outshooting Keene State 11-4 in the second stanza and a 12-3 margin in second-half penalty corners. The Corsairs nearly took the lead in the 41st minute, but sophomore Marita Brothers made consecutive, defensive saves to stymie sophomore Hunter Carden.
In the 53rd minute, the Owls' backline rose to the occasion again, when senior Melissa Habelow recorded a defensive save to stop the potential go-ahead goal off the stick of junior Emily Anderson.
In between the pipes, junior Meaghan Dwyer reached double digits in saves with 13 stops to earn the victory. Sophomore Elizabeth St. Germaine logged five saves in 79 minutes, 26 seconds of action.
UMass Dartmouth held decisive advantages in both shots (23-10) and penalty corners (21-7).
(Recap courtesy of UMass Dartmouth athletics)
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