WORCESTER, Mass. – Zoe Athanasopoulos and Carly Duff scored less than three minutes apart spanning the third and fourth quarters to give Worcester State University the lead for the first time in the game, and the Lancers wound up holding on as the Keene State College field hockey team fell 3-2 in Little East Conference action Wednesday night at Coughlin Field for their fourth loss in the past six games.

Records

• Keene State:  8-8, 7-2 LEC
• Worcester State:  10-6, 7-2 LEC

How It Happened
Concluding the regular season with the final four games against teams near above, even, or just behind them in the conference standings, the Owls did not get off to the start in the stretch they were hoping for, as they were twice unable to hold one-goal leads and lost their third straight at Coughlin Field and for the fourth time in the last six meetings overall.  As they have done often this year, KSC started strong when Kalina Piasecki scored only 8:36 in, but the Lancers evened the game 44 seconds later on what ended up being their only shot of the opening 15 minutes.  Piasecki found the back of the cage again, her eighth on the season, in the 38th minute to give her team a one-goal advantage once more.  This time, it took Worcester a little over seven minutes to answer, as their leading goal scorer Athanasopoulos converted a pass from Emily Saucier with one second left following a penalty corner to send the game into the fourth tied at two.  The Lancers carried their momentum into the final 15 minutes, generating changes within the opening minute of the quarter.  KSC goalkeeper Clara Gorman made a stop on Karalyn Jones, who had scored early in the first to force a 1-1 tie, 40 seconds in, but about two minutes later Worcester State earned another penalty corner and scored the go-ahead goal off it when Carly Duff beat Gorman, finding the back of the cage for the first time this season.

Trailing 3-2, Keene State mounted a major push over the game's final 12 minutes, as after the Lancers took the lead, they had no shots over the remainder of the game.  The problem for the Owls, though, was that Madison Ferrara made five of her twelve saves on the night in that span as the equalizer never came.  Maggie Cahoon and Piasecki were each denied twice, Irini Stefanakos once, and one other shot by Hannah Wood was blocked and never got through.  Keene State also had four corner chances – including three in the final 1:03 and two in the final 50 seconds – but was unable to convert.  Cahoon had their final bid of the game with 15 seconds left, well after the corner which began with 41 seconds to go, but Ferrara saved that one too.

The game-changing sequence spanning the third and fourth quarters spoiled what had otherwise been a strong start for the Owls, who fired the game's first four shots in the opening 5:56 before scoring on their sixth attempt with an Ellie Hunkins to Piasecki connection in the ninth minute.  However, in addition to scoring on what ended up being their last shot of the game, Worcester State also scored on their first when Madison Avilla found Jones at the 9:20 mark.  KSC maintained a 1-1 tie, weathering six Lancer corners in the second quarter.  Both keepers made three saves in that period, including Ferrara twice in nine seconds on Stefanakos in the 27th minute and Gorman one on Duff with 30 seconds left in the half as KSC almost was burned late in a quarter again.  Out of the locker room, the teams traded chances early in the third, with Wood getting denied by Ferrara 47 seconds in and Jones by Gorman in the 38th minute.  KSC got a corner eight seconds after that save and scored four seconds later when Wood found Piasecki, but their lead did not last.

Ferrara (10-6) stopped 12 of 14 shots in the win.  Gorman (7-7) took the loss, making six saves.

Penalty Strokes

• Piasecki scored in consecutive games for the third time in her rookie season.  Her eight goals and 19 points both rank second on the team behind Stefanakos.
• KSC fell to 2-5 in games decided by one-goal this season.
• The Owls are 23-6 against the Lancers, but just 2-4 since a 19-game winning streak in the series ended in 2017.  They had not visited Coughlin Field since losing the 2019 LEC championship game 6-0 at that venue.

Up Next

• Keene State hosts league-leading University of Southern Maine (12-5, 9-1 LEC) on Saturday, October 22 at 1:30 p.m.  The Huskies have won four straight, including shutting out their last three opponents including Fitchburg State University (1-0) tonight, since a 4-3 overtime loss at Castleton University on October 8.  A win Saturday for the Owls would keep them alive for the top seed in the conference standings, while a loss would have them fighting to remain in contention for a quarterfinal home game (the top four seeds host).
• Worcester State, who had lost consecutive games at home by 4-1 finals to Endicott College and Plymouth State University entering tonight, visits Eastern Connecticut State University (6-8, 3-6 LEC) on the same day (12:00 p.m.).  The Warriors beat the Lancers 2-0 in the semifinals last year in Worcester and were picked second in the conference's preseason poll, but are instead on the outside looking in at the final playoff spot right now.