KEENE, N.H. – Grace Bazin tacked on two more goals to her team-leading goal total while Irini Stefanakos and Kalina Piasecki also scored as the Keene State College field hockey team handled Plymouth State University 4-2 in Little East Conference action at Owl Athletic Complex Friday night.  The game was originally slated for Saturday, but moved up due to the weather forecast.

Records

• Keene State:  8-5, 2-1 LEC
• Plymouth State:  6-3, 1-1 LEC

Postgame Interview (Coach Watson)
Postgame Interview (Grace Bazin)

How It Happened
After having dropped three straight – two by shutout – and falling into a 1-0 hole tonight only 3:19 into the game, the Owls rebounded, answering with their own goal less than four minutes later as part of three consecutive scores that helped them take control of the game.  The Panthers got back within one late in the third, but again KSC had a fast response, scoring with 20 seconds left in the period to carry a two-goal edge into the final period that they would not relinquish.

Keene State had not played at home since September 16, a whopping three-week gap in-season between appearances at the Owl Athletic Complex.  In that time frame, they played five consecutive road games – four to Massachusetts and one to Maine – and went 2-3.  The Owls allowed the first goal in their last three contests, all losses, and did so today only 3:19 in when Panthers leading scorer Taylor Healey carried into the circle by the end line on Clara Gorman's left.  Gorman got a small piece of her centering pass, but Athena Comeau was right there and gathered it before finding Healey lingering by the back post behind Gorman for the tip-in.  Much like last season's LEC quarterfinal matchup when PSU scored first very early off a Healey goal, the Panthers' lead did not last long.  Keene State found the equalizer when Elizabeth Gonyea stole a pass on a PSU breakout in the middle of the field and found Stefanakos in the middle of the circle.  The Owls' second leading scorer cashed in, gathering the ball and beating an aggressive Kayla Antonucci, who was well out from her cage, to her left, to force a 1-1 tie with seven minutes left in the first.

KSC had the territorial edge in the opening 30 minutes to the tune of 6-2 in penalty corners and 10-6 in shots, but Antonucci made six saves, including on Bazin after a corner in the 14th minute and on Piasecki 38 seconds into the second quarter.  The Owls took their first lead a little more than two minutes into the period when Grace Seabury carried into the right corner following a restart and dished a pass into the middle, which was collected by Bazin, whose shot through traffic beat Antonucci to her left for a 2-1 lead.  PSU's keeper made a pair of stops to keep it a one-goal game minutes later, and her team began to flip the field over the final nine minutes of the quarter, but could not get anything past Gorman, who stopped Jenna Stowell and Comeau twice apiece, including two within five seconds of each other in the 22nd minute.

The Owls punched first out of the halftime locker room, taking a 3-1 edge midway through the third quarter when Stefanakos stole the ball from Salzillo in KSC's defensive side of the field and carried up field, where she found Bazin on her right as they both entered the circle.  Salzillo tipped that pass, but Bazin got it back and spun past Jenna Freni and beat Antonucci at the 37:14 mark.  Salzillo made up for the goal by scoring her own five minutes later and PSU had two penalty corners after making it a one-goal (3-2) game with about two minutes left in the quarter, but came up empty on both.  Keene State scored a critical goal in the final 20 seconds of the third, as Gonyea stole Healey's pass just ahead of the midfield line and eventually Stefanakos in the middle found Bazin on the right who fired on Antonucci.  The Panthers' keeper made the initial stop by kicking away her try, but Piasecki was there to pot the rebound and make it 4-2.

Plymouth had the better of the chances in the fourth quarter, but KSC's defense held them to mostly of the non-dangerous variety, as Gorman only needed to make one stop in the final 15 minutes as the Owls wrapped up the win.  She stopped six overall in the win.

Antonucci made nine saves in the loss for Plymouth.

Penalty Strokes

• KSC outshot PSU 16-8 in the game.  The Panthers had a slight 9-8 edge in penalty corners.
• The Owls have won a series-best six straight against Plymouth and are 21-1 against them in Keene (31-10-1 overall).
• Bazin's multi-goal game was her third.  Keene State is 5-3 in the games that she has scored.

Up Next

• Keene State hosts No. 24 ranked Trinity College (Conn.) (7-4, 3-4 NESCAC) on Tuesday, October 10 at 6:30 p.m. as part of a three-game week that also sees them at home on Thursday.  The Bantams won 1-0 at Bowdoin College today.
• Plymouth State returns home to face Thomas College (Maine) (5-6) on the same day at 4:00 p.m.