KEENE, N.H. – Maggie Cahoon scored twice and Molly Murray added two penalty stroke goals as the Keene State College field hockey team started fast and did not have much trouble downing Fitchburg State University 5-2 in a Little East Conference contest Tuesday night at Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  6-9, 6-1 LEC
• Fitchburg State:  1-12, 0-7 LEC

How It Happened
KSC maintained their hold on the top spot in the conference, a half-game better than Eastern Connecticut State University and the University of Southern Maine, with a win that was never in much doubt, as they scored twice in the opening 14 minutes, led 3-0 at halftime, and 5-0 after three quarters while outshooting Fitchburg 17-1 in that span.  The Owls had a 26-5 edge in penalty corners in the game, including a whopping 12 in the first quarter as they possessed the ball for the vast majority of the time.  The Falcons' first shot did not come until the 24th minute when KSC keeper Molly Edmark swatted away a bid by Joyce Arbia.  At that point, Keene State had already scored twice for a 2-0 lead.  Cahoon took the Owls' sixth penalty corner of the game at the 6:08 mark and scored just seven seconds later, redirecting Lauren Hausser's blast past Fitchburg keeper Jenna Morse.  Cahoon had inserted the chance into Irini Stefanakos, who slid a nice pass to the left to Hausser, who found Cahoon lurking near the cage and Morse.  Keene State's pressure did not relax, as they consistently had the ball in the Falcons' circle, eventually leading to a penalty stroke opportunity with 46.8 seconds left in the first.  Molly Murray entered the game and cashed in, elevating a shot halfway up the back of the cage for her first career goal in style.

Fitchburg had a brief period where they found some offense, getting four of their five corner chances in an eight-minute span to open the second quarter, but it led to just the one aforementioned shot.  Keene State made it 3-0 by scoring with just 1:06 left in the break as Emily White raced into the circle and sent a pass to Ellie Hunkins who gathered and found the back of the cage for the 11th time this season.  The Owls had a whopping 17 corners in the first half and did not slow any to start the second half, piling up eight more in the third quarter alone.  They also scored two times, both from familiar suspects, just 1:57 apart early in that period to balloon the advantage to 5-0.  Normally taking KSC's corners, Cahoon instead was fed one by White in the 36th minute and cashed in, roofing a shot that bounced off the cross bar and in for a four-goal lead.  It was Cahoon's second goal of the night and White's second assist.  The Owls were awarded a second penalty stroke with exactly eight minutes left in the third and again sent in Murray to take it.  The result was the same for the first-year midfielder, who beat Morse to her stick side and ended her night in the process after an eight-save outing.

Fitchburg accounted for the final margin by scoring twice in a 3:14 span in the fourth quarter as Emily Iacovelli and Alexis Raymond slid shots past Victoria Watson, who entered and played the final 15 minutes.  Edmark got the win, only needing to make one stop as KSC won for the fifth time in their past seven games.

Penalty Strokes

• Keene State has won 24 of 26 meetings in the series and the last 17 in a row.  The Falcons' goals tonight ended a string of 11 consecutive Owl shutouts.  FSU had not scored against KSC since 2009.
• Cahoon has scored in four of her last five games and Hunkins in seven of the past nine.
• The Owls have scored 27 goals in eight home games this season (17 on the road in seven games).

Up Next

• KSC heads back on the road to take on Framingham State University (4-7, 1-7 LEC) in a league matchup this Saturday (October 16) at 7:00 p.m.
• Fitchburg State heads to Castleton University (4-9, 2-5 LEC) on the same day for a 1:00 p.m. start.