Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Offcanvas Schedule

Events

Results

Keene State College

Scoreboard

KEENE STATE OWLS
Field Hockey Postgame 10.20.2021
2
Worcester State WORC (11-5, 6-3 LEC)
4
Winner Keene State KSC (8-9, 8-1 LEC)
Worcester State WORC
(11-5, 6-3 LEC)
2
Final
4
Keene State KSC
(8-9, 8-1 LEC)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Worcester State WORC 2 0 0 0 2
Keene State KSC 1 0 1 2 4

Game Recap: Field Hockey | | Ryan Hearn, Sports Information Assistant

Owls Come Up Clutch Late to Down Worcester State, 4-2

Stefanakos, Gonzalez Score in Fourth as KSC Maintains Grip on First Place in LEC

KEENE, N.H. – Irini Stefanakos scored the go-ahead goal in the fourth quarter just 48 seconds after Worcester State University saw a penalty stroke go wide and the Keene State College field hockey team went on to wrap up a key 4-2 Little East Conference victory Wednesday night at Owl Athletic Complex.

Records
  • Keene State:  8-9, 8-1 LEC
  • Worcester State:  11-5, 6-3 LEC
How It Happened
The Owls began a key four-game stretch of the regular season in which they play three of the top five teams in the league standings in style, rallying with three unanswered goals after Worcester State scored on two of their first three shots for a 2-1 lead.  KSC scored just 1:41 into the action when Ellie Hunkins rushed up the left side after a restart and fired a shot past Lancers' goalkeeper Sam Gastonguay, but the lead was gone just over three minutes later when Emily Floury converted off a WSU corner, tipping home Emily Saucier's feed.  It was another corner that put Worcester State ahead for the first time, as Lexie Panagiotopoulos made something happen, getting around an Owl defender and pushing a ball into the middle that KSC keeper Molly Edmark could not corral before Carly Duff swatted it into the cage for a 2-1 lead.

Keene State could not generate much offense in the opening half and had only two corner chances as WSU maintained a one-goal edge at the break, but the Owls got it going out of the locker room, tying the game just three minutes into the third quarter.  Emily White carried toward the top of the circle and slid a pass into the middle, finding the stick of a diving Grace Taylor who beat an aggressive Gastonguay who was out trying to play the ball.   Tied 2-2, the teams traded chances over the remainder of the quarter.  Edmark made a nice stop of Madison Avilla's try in the 35th minute and then saved a shot by Floury in the 40th to preserve the tie, while the Owls saw a shot by Stefanakos go wide and the final three corners of the period end unsuccessfully.

It seemed as though the Lancers had a golden opportunity to take the lead once again just 1:52 into the fourth when they were awarded a penalty stroke, but Floury – their leading scorer – missed wide and the momentum changed significantly from there.  Keene State went ahead 3-2 just 48 seconds later when their leading scorer did not miss, as Stefanakos found the back of the cage after Taylor and the rest of the Owls applied significant pressure in the Lancers' circle.  Overall, the Owls outshot WSU 4-2 in the final 15 minutes and had five of their 10 penalty corners in that span.  Beside the penalty stroke, Worcester State managed just one other shot in the fourth which was stopped by Edmark off a try by Cutting with a little under 10 minutes to go.  Keene State took over from there over the next five minutes and eventually broke through with an insurance goal.  Gastonguay kept her team within one for the moment by saving a pair of Lauren Hauser blasts off corners, but after KSC's fourth consecutive such opportunity, Demetria Gonzalez capitalized on a ricochet to make it a 4-2 game with 2:40 left.  It was her third goal in the last two games after she scored the first two of her career at Framingham State University this past Saturday.  Worcester State wound up not scoring over the game's final 48:27 and had just two shot attempts (including the stroke) over the final 20:08.

Edmark stopped four to pick up the win in the KSC cage, while Gastonguay saved a pair for the Lancers.

Penalty Strokes
  • Keene State gained a measure of revenge against Worcester, who won their first LEC tournament title in 2019 with a 6-0 decision over the Owls.  KSC has won 23 of 28 overall in the series and 15 of the 17 played at Owl Athletic Complex.
  • The Owls' win combined with victories by Eastern Connecticut State University and Westfield State University leave Keene State's lead at one game at the top of the conference standings.
  • Stefanakos and Hunkins have scored 25 of KSC's 52 goals this season and combined for 59 points.
Up Next
  • Keene State heads back out on the road for a visit to the University of Southern Maine (10-7, 7-3 LEC) on Saturday, October 23 for a 12:00 p.m. start.
  • Worcester State hosts Eastern Connecticut (9-4, 7-2 LEC) on the same day at 3:00 p.m.
Print Friendly Version