KEENE, N.H. – First year forward Ryleigh Laporte (Leicester, Vt.) slipped behind the Owls' defense and beat goalkeeper Clara Gorman one-on-one in the seven-on-seven overtime session as Colby-Sawyer College upended the Keene State College field hockey team 3-2 with less than two minutes to go in the extra session Wednesday night at the Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  2-1
• Colby-Sawyer:  2-0

Highlights
Postgame Interview (Coach Watson)

How It Happened
KSC started strong, outshooting the Chargers 4-1 in the opening 15 minutes while getting a goal from University of New England transfer sophomore Grace Bazin (Bellows Falls, Vt.) only 8:11 in for a quick lead, but the Owls' attack waned as the night went on, recording only nine shots over the final 53 minutes as they dropped their first contest of the year.  For the second time in three calendar years, Colby-Sawyer posted an OT win in Keene after never leading in regulation.  In 2021, KSC jumped out to a 3-0 lead in barely over nine minutes, and then retook a 4-3 edge with 12 seconds left in the third on a tally from Irini Stefanakos.  However, neither lead remained as Bella Silva tied the game less than two minutes later before Aoife Daly won the game with 2:43 left in overtime.  This time around?  Keene State had a pair of one-goal advantages, including when Stefanakos potted a ball from Hailey Patridge, who had fired from the top of the circle following a corner with ten minutes to go.

It seemed the Owls had gained significant momentum after not only retaking the lead, but subsequently getting a penalty stroke save from senior goalkeeper and captain Molly Edmark, who gobbled up Aleah Murph's shot with her pads.  Edmark had entered specifically for the stroke, and came up big in an important spot with 7:52 left.  But Colby-Sawyer had other ideas, tying the game at two 26 seconds later when Taylor Gaudette found a ball that had squeaked through Clara Gorman's pads and slid it into the back of the cage.  The teams traded mostly medium-danger chances over the remainder of regulation, with Gorman kicking away Kylie Walden's shot that likely would have gone wide anyway in the final minute.

Predictably, the 7-v-7 overtime session was filled with open space – and chances for each team.  Gorman stopped a bid from Gaudet at the 8:38 mark.  KSC appeared to free up Stefanakos charging into the circle on a possible counterattack, but her shot after trying to weave around Bernard was well left of the target.  Patridge, outside of the circle, hit a ball into the circle looking for a tip but instead it trickled harmlessly out of bounds to the right of the cage.  On the restart going the other way with a little more than two minutes to go, Courtney Larson found Murph, who charged over the midfield line and – with Owl defenders retreating – slid a pass to Laporte who corralled the pass and slid a shot to the right of an extremely aggressive Gorman, who was well outside of the cage, that found the back to give the Chargers a 3-2 win and a 2-0 record.

For KSC, it was a frustrating loss following a strong start that saw what figure to be two of their prominent scorers (Bazin and Stefanakos) connecting.  After the opening 15 minutes, Colby-Sawyer had a 21-9 edge in shots and a 10-4 advantage in corners.  KSC head coach Amy Watson had expressed concern over the number of corners allowed after the Owls allowed 22 in their season-opening win at Springfield.

Gorman (1-1) gave the Owls a chance, making 11 saves including seven in the fourth quarter and overtime.  Edmark had the other stop in that span.

Bernard improved to 2-0, making five saves in 68:05.

Penalty Strokes

• Colby-Sawyer has now won two of three in the series – both overtime wins in Keene (5-4 and 3-2).  The Owls had outscored the Chargers a combined 13-1 in their initial two encounters at the Owl Athletic Complex.
• Stefanakos and Bazin have a point in five of a possible six combined games thus far this season.  Stefanakos has three goals and one assist overall, and Bazin two goals on 15 shots (11 SOG).
• The Owls are 15-10 at home since the start of the 2021 season.  They were 28-9 at the Owl Athletic Complex in the three seasons prior to that.

Up Next

• KSC continues a three-game homestand on Saturday (September 9) when they welcome former LEC opponent Worcester State University (0-1) for a 1:00 p.m. start.
• Colby-Sawyer goes to Dean College (0-3) for a GNAC game at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 8.  The Chargers were picked third in the conference's preseason poll, behind Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) and Simmons University.  Dean has lost 26 games in a row.