KEENE, N.H. - Nina Bruno tied the Keene State College field hockey single-game goals record by scoring five times as the Owls took down Bridgewater State University 7-3 in Little East Conference action on Tuesday night at Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  11-3, 7-1 LEC
• Bridgewater State:  6-6, 4-5 LEC

How It Happened

In addition to Bruno's five-goal showing, fellow leading scorer Kayla Klein tallied a pair as KSC scored six of the final seven goals in the contest to erase an early deficit with ease.  Julia Babbitt fed Bruno for her first of the contest about five minutes in as the Owls led 1-0.  Bridgewater had a quick response, though, as they scored twice in just over five minutes to take what proved to be their only lead of the game.  Emma Daly had the equalizer at the 7:30 mark before BSU went up 2-1 in the 13th minute when Samantha Hayes found the back of the cage.  KSC was not behind for long, as Klein scored from Courtney Jessup to tie the game less than five minutes later, and the Owls were ahead to stay when Bruno's second of the game made it 3-2 at 20:47.  Hailey Beaupre preserved the lead with a defensive save on Olivia Ahlman in the 25th minute, and the Owls added to their advantage less than three minutes before the break.  After BSU goalkeeper Allison Chappell made a trio of saves, Klein converted on a penalty stroke at the 32:08 mark, giving KSC a 4-2 lead.  Chappell made two more saves in the final two minutes to keep it the same score at halftime.  Keene State outshot Bridgewater 17-5 in the opening half.

KSC continued pulling away after the break, as Bruno completed the hat trick in the 41st minute off a feed from Ally McCall.  Now trailing 5-2, the Bears got one closer on Hayes' second goal of the contest at 53:19, but the Owls were never threatened.  Bruno tied the single-game goals record with two markers in quick succession late in the contest.  She first scored unassisted in the 66th minute and then cashed in off a feed from McKenna Blean just 2:34 later as KSC took a 7-3 advantage.

Rachel Loseby (11-3) earned the win in the KSC cage, making a pair of saves.  Chappell (5-6) was peppered with 22 shots and stopped 15 for Bridgewater.

Penalty Strokes

• Bruno's five-goal game tied a record that had been done three times previously.  Kay Mulcahy accomplished the feat against Rivier in 1981, Tanya Strong against Endicott in 2003, and Elizabeth Coffin against Worcester State in 2012.  Bruno now has scored at least three goals five times this season and is currently tied for ninth on the single-season goal list.  Sami Smith's 36 goals in 2016 stand as the record.
• Keene State held a wide 30-8 advantage in shots and had 18 of the 21 penalty corners.
• The game featured the conference's top three scorers:  Bruno (21 goals) and Klein (18) for Keene State, and Hayes (16) for the Bears.
• KSC has won 26 of 30 all-time meetings.

Up Next

• Keene State will trek up to New Hampton to play in-state rival Plymouth State University on Saturday, October 13 at 11:00 am.  The Owls are currently 7-1 in the conference, one game off the pace of Castleton University (8-0).
• Bridgewater State returns home and will host a non-conference contest against Springfield College on Thursday, October 11 at 7:00 pm.