KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore midfielder Molly Murray made good on a penalty stroke attempt with no time remaining in the third quarter to second the Keene State College field hockey team into the fourth tied and with momentum, but Smith College scored 2:33 into the final period to pull out a 3-2 victory over the Owls Thursday night in non-conference action at Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  4-4
• Smith:  4-5

Postgame Interview (Coach Watson)

How It Happened
KSC came out on the attack and was the far superior team early, outshooting the Pioneers 5-0 in the first quarter while taking a 1-0 lead barely over three minutes in when Kalina Piasecki scored her third of the season.  However, the Owls were otherwise unable to build on the advantage as five penalty corner chances in the period went for naught, and Smith eventually found their defensive footing – and then their offensive footing – to drop Keene State to 1-4 in non-conference contests this season.

Piasecki's tally in the fourth minute was a rebound goal as Rory Harper could not control the ball after an initial shot by Ellie Hunkins, but the Smith goalkeeper was otherwise strong early to prevent her team from falling into a significant hole, as she saved Lauren Hausser's blast in the sixth minute and a try by KSC offensive leader Irini Stefenakos 8:27 in.  The Owls had two subsequent corners over the remainder of the quarter, but generated only one shot attempt that was well wide.

Still leading 1-0, Keene State continued to stuff the Pioneers as the half wore on, quickly eliminating chances inside the circle.  Smith had no shots in the opening 15 minutes and just one quarter that resulted in nothing.  Their first shot did not come until 16:21 in when Abbey O'Meara tested KSC keeper Clara Gorman, who made a nice save.  The visitors then went another 12 minutes without a shot, but unfortunately for the Owls, it was a momentum-changer, as the Pioneers tied it at one with just 1:04 left until halftime.  Eva Kinnel inserted a Smith corner – only their second of the half – to the top and Karlie Guimond, finding Annie Wimsatt on the right who carried in a few steps and blasted a shot through bodies and to Gorman's right.  KSC had to settle for a 1-1 tie at halftime despite outshooting Smith 5-2 and having six of the 10 corners, though the Owls were shotless in the second quarter (the Pioneers had two).

Keene State had two golden chances right out of the locker room as they looked to take the lead and momentum back, seeing their two of their offensive leaders with plenty of space to roam with just Harper to beat.  However, Smith's goalkeeper made a pair of impressive saves to deny both and keep the game tied, and her team then tilted the field in their direction as the quarter wore on, piling up six of their nine corners in the game in the period.  Gorman made five saves herself, stopping five different people in less than three minutes, but the Pioneers took their first lead of the game with 30.2 seconds to go in the third.  It was again the result of a corner, as Kinnel inserted to Guimond, who then got the ball back from O'Meara and carried in for a point blast that found its way through in a hurry.  It seemed Smith would head into the final 15 minutes riding momentum, but Keene State generated a corner with 2.8 seconds left and was then awarded a penalty stroke with no time left on the clock.  Murray, as she has done numerous times, stepped up and lasered one into the left side of the cage for a 2-2 tie.

The pendulum swung back over to Smith pretty quickly early in the fourth, as although KSC got the ball in their attacking circle, could not generate any shots, and then saw the Pioneers threaten with a shot from Annika Peterson 2:07 in that Gorman kicked away and went out off the Owls.  On the restart, O'Meara sent a ball into the middle looking for a tip from a teammate.  Gorman snuffed that out, but the ball came to O'Meara, who then found Guimond, and her feed was batted into the net by Peterson, who was camped out behind KSC's keeper by the far post.

Now needing to again search for an equalizer, the Owls did not have ample chances down the stretch, but the few they did have could be considered prime chances.  With 8:41 left, Stefanakos carried past three defenders before sailing a shot over the net, and then with 5:25 remaining Julia Baer set up Ellie Hunkins nearly alone in front of Harper, but while corralling the ball, two Smith defenders closed in and her shot went wide.  The Pioneers then were able to run out the rest of the clock without allowing much of a KSC threat, particularly in the final two minutes when they had the ball in their attacking circle.  The Owls were outshot 14-7 in the second half after having a 5-2 edge in that category over the opening 30 minutes.

Gorman (4-4) made eight saves in the loss, while Harper stopped six in the win.

Penalty Strokes

• Murray has scored on a penalty stroke in four of the seven games she has appeared in this season (on four chances).  She had four tries (2-for-4) in the entirety of the 2021 season.
• Piasecki has three goals in her last five games, generating 14 shots in the process.
• Smith had lost 12 of 15 against KSC entering last season's matchup, but has now won consecutive games over the Owls for the first time in series history.

Up Next

• Keene State has a rare Sunday Little East Conference matchup when they visit Bridgewater State University (1-7, 0-3 LEC) on October 2 at 1:00 p.m.  The Bears have been outscored 33-7 this season.
• Smith heads back out on the road, visiting Wheaton College (Mass.) (2-7, 0-1 NEWMAC) for a league contest on Saturday, October 1 for a 12:00 p.m. start.