MANSFIELD, Conn.--Sami Smith's 10th career hat-trick gave the Keene State College field hockey team a 5-1 Little East Conference win over Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of the 2015 Little East Conference championship game.

Records

• Keene State: 12-3, 7-0 LEC
• Eastern Conn. State: 6-5, 5-3 LEC

Up Next

• Keene State returns home to host rival Plymouth State University in the penultimate regular season home game of the year on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in the Little East Conference Game of the Season.
• The Warriors will also be at home, hosting Westfield State at 4 p.m.

Tale of the Tape

• Smith scored all three of her goals in the second half, giving her 27 goals for the season.  Smith, who set the Owl career marks for goals and points earlier this year, needs just four to break the single season record of 30, set by Tanya Strong in 2003, and nine points to break the single season point mark of 70, also currently owned by Strong in the 2003 season.
• Smith is not just re-writing the KSC record books, she's also moving up the all-time scoring list in NCAA Division III history.  She currently has 81 career goals and 189 career points, placing her just outside the top 30 in both categories.
• The Owls also got goals from Brittney Cardente and Jensyn Dandeneau, who are also both finding the cage with ease.  Cardente has now scored in each of her last three games, while Dandeneau has five goals in her last three contests.
• Gwendolyn Thayer made seven saves for the Owls, who have now won six in a row.

First Half Highlights

• The Owls, who have scored in the first 10 minutes of a game in each of the last three contests, did so again in the sixth minute when Kendal Brown set up Cardente for her fourth goal of the year.
• Eastern Connecticut State tied the game in the 15th minute, when Brianna Passero beat Thayer for her sixth goal.
• KSC was back in front within five minutes; after Kayla Renaud tested Samantha Scavo in the 18th minute, Dandeneau connected on a goal in the 21st.
• Keene State kept pouring it on, as Cardente and Renaud forced Sacvo to make a pair of saves to keep it a 2-1 game.

Second Half Highlights

• The Owls went looking for more in the second half, putting six shots on in the first 15 minutes of the half.  Scavo turned them all aside until Smith scored at the 54:29 mark off a pass from Renaud.
• Two minutes later, it was Smith again, with Cardente providing the pass as the Owls went up 4-1.
• The senior then wrapped up her second hat-trick in as many games off a pass from Hannah Cook with less than four minutes to go.