KEENE, N.H.--A late rally fell a little bit short as the Keene State College field hockey team fell 4-2 to the University of New England on Saturday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State: 1-1
• Univ. of New England: 2-0

Up Next

• Keene State hits the road for the first time this season when they travel to Williams on September 6 at 6:30 p.m.
• The Nor'Easters travel to No. 2 Bowdoin for a 7 p.m. start on September 7.

Tale of the Tape

• The Owls were outshot by UNE, 16-10, including a 14-4 edge in shots on goal.  
• The Nor'Easters jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Keene State scored twice in the final 10 minutes to halve the deficit.
• Gwen Thayer and Jordan LaRaus split time in the cage for the Owls, each making five saves.  Holly Smith made two stops for UNE. 

First Half Highlights

• The game remained scoreless until the 20th minute, when Marge Gardiner opened the scoring.  Kersey Boulay's initial shot was blocked, but the rebound fell right to Gardiner, who popped in her second of the season past Thayer.
• The Owl offense struggled to get anything going, failing to register a shot on goal in the first period.
• The Nor'Easters doubled the lead with no time on the clock in the first half.   UNE was awarded a penalty corner as time expired, and though they did not score directly from the corner, KSC was whistled for a penalty stroke that Boulay converted to Thayer's right.

Second Half Highlights

• UNE had a third less than 90 seconds into the half, as Nicole Matarozzo scored unassisted for a 3-0 lead.
• Four minutes later, it was 4-0, as Matarozzo slid in a pass for Hannah Buckley to score.
• The Owls broke up the shutout with 7:38 left in the game.  Brittney Cardente sent in the corner, and was on hand when Kayla Renaud sent the ball in to score her first of the season.
• KSC added a second with less than three minutes to go, as Sami Smith set up Julia Babbitt, but KSC could not get closer.