KEENE, N.H. – For a nonzero period of time, it seemed as if Plymouth State University might pick up their second win in Keene since 1997 in a big spot.  However, to the rescue came Keene State College's leading scorers, as Grace Bazin scored with a little over three minutes left in the third quarter to tie it and Irini Stefanakos netted the winner in an impressive effort with a little under five minutes to go in the fourth as the Owls gutted out a 3-2 win in the semifinal round of the 2023 Little East Conference field hockey tournament at the Owl Athletic Complex Thursday night.

Records

• Keene State:  13-8
• Plymouth State:  12-6

Postgame Interview (Coach Watson)
Postgame Interview (Irini Stefanakos)

How It Happened
The Owls' now 21 appearances in the league final are by far the most in league history, with nobody else even in double-figures (Plymouth has nine but none since 2016).  On Saturday, KSC will look to stop a two-game skid in championship games (being blanked in both) and win their first championship since 2018 when they travel to the University of Southern Maine (12:00 p.m.), who avenged last year's title game loss to Vermont State University Castleton by pulling out a 2-1 overtime win this time around.  USM's lone title came in 2003 – actually in Keene, a 3-1 win – but has lost in their last three appearances and four times overall.

KSC cracked the scoreboard first on Thursday night when Meghan Daileanes scored 8:51 into the game, but Plymouth responded rapidly and with force, scoring twice in 21 seconds through Alessia Salzillo and Mackenzie Labrie early in the second quarter to take the lead, and that advantage would remain at halftime and for most of the third quarter.  PSU dominated the second quarter territorially, racking up an 8-1 advantage in shots and 4-1 in penalty corners.  However, KSC limited their offense otherwise to just six total shots in the other three quarters including zero in the third.  Despite that, it was critical for the Owls to find an equalizer to avoid being sent home in the semifinal round for the second consecutive year.  The goal that forced a 2-2 tie in the 42nd minute came from an impressive individual effort from Bazin, who gathered a ball in the corner outside of the circle, worked through a pair of Panther defenders to get into the circle and fired a shot past PSU keeper Kayla Antonucci to the far post once she got into a shooting position to tie the game.  It was her team-leading 19th goal of the season.

The Owls had several chances to take the lead early in the fourth, but Bazin's try at the 47:37 mark was blocked and two penalty corners were unsuccessful.  Antonucci made pair of saves, denying Grace Seabury and Stefanakos within three seconds of each other on the second of the two corners.  With less than nine minutes left, Plymouth had their own set of two corners, but send two shots wide including one by leading scorer Taylor Healey.  KSC's eventual game-winning goal came less than two minutes later, and it came from another impressive connection from their leading scorers.  Bazin flicked a pass to Stefanakos outside the circle, and the Owls' second leading scorer moved to her left and into space away from a pair of PSU defenders before sending a backhanded shot with velocity that Antonucci had very little chance to stop, again beaten to her left, as Keene State went up 3-2 with a little over four minutes to go.  The goal not only provided a late lead but also left both Bazin (19 goals, seven assists) and Stefanakos (17 goals, 11 assists) even in points with 45 each on the season.

Keene State's defense clamped down from there, as Plymouth's only threatening chance to came 25 seconds after the goal and 15 seconds after a green card on Molly Murray, but Natalie Tremblay sent a shot wide.  The Owls otherwise kept the Panthers at bay from there and ended their season for the second straight year and third time since 2019.

Clara Gorman made six stops in the win for the Owls while her counterpart Antonucci had three saves for PSU, who had advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 home win over No. 6 seed Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday.

Penalty Strokes

• Bazin or Stefanakos have scored goals in 16 of KSC's 21 games.
• The Owls improved to 11-1 all-time against Plymouth State in the postseason and 22-1 against them in Keene (32-10-1 overall).  Their current seven-game winning streak head-to-head is the longest in series history.
• Stefanakos' game-winning goal was her third of the season and 14th of her career.  Bazin leads the team with five in 2023.
• KSC is 4-0 when Daileanes scores a goal.

Up Next

• The Little East Championship game will take place in Gorham, Maine at Hannaford Field on Saturday, November 4 at 12:00 p.m.  USM downed the Owls 3-2 on that field last year in the semifinals for their third postseason win over KSC in 12 tries.  This year in the regular season, the Owls rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead with 9:23 left on a goal from Bazin, but USM scored twice in the final 4:29 including the winner with 25 seconds left to squeeze out a 5-4 victory that ultimately helped give them the regular season title.
• Plymouth State's season is over.  They had a five-game winning streak snapped tonight, but won 12 games in Molly Saunders' first season as head coach.  The Panthers were looking for their first league title since 2002 when they capped off a three-peat.