PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior forward Kalina Piasecki notched her first multi-goal game since September 3 of last year and the Keene State College field hockey team went from behind to ahead in a span of 2:18 late in the third quarter, eventually holding off Plymouth State University for a 3-2 Little East Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at Panther Field.

KSC (12-2, 3-0 LEC) started slowly, finding themselves down two goals less than 17 minutes in, but Piasecki's first goal with 4:32 left until halftime provided a spark, and the Owls controlled the middle two periods to flip the script.  Plymouth (5-6, 1-1 LEC), coming off a 7-0 blowout loss to Thomas College on Tuesday, lost for the eighth consecutive time in the series and 33rd in 44 meetings since 1997.

Nonetheless, it did not come easy for the Owls, who have allowed the first goal in five consecutive contests.  The Panthers took a 1-0 lead today on a well-executed corner in the 13th minute as Georgia Coleman inserted to the top of the circle where Sarah Adamske put her stick down to set up Alessia Salzillo's blast that sizzled through traffic and ended up being the baseball equivalent of a line drive into the cage. 

PSU doubled their lead less than four minutes later when they capitalized on another corner.  Salzillo's stick stop allowed the ball to stop there for Adamske at the top of the circle, who flicked a no-look pass behind her to Abigale Bsullak.  She then found Jess Couture to KSC keeper Clara Gorman's right by the far post, executing a perfect redirect in past defender Hannah Wood.

Down 2-0, KSC awakened from there and eventually drew back within a goal in the 26th minute. Irini Stefanakos gathered off a restart and beat several defenders to get into the circle, where she passed off to Grace Seabury who found a wide open Piasecki on the left for a tap-in goal to make it 2-1.  PSU goalkeeper Kayla Antonucci was well out of the play, as she came aggressively out of the cage on the ball to Seabury, leaving the cage vacant.

Katelyn Nicotera, who entered 2:29 into the second quarter after PSU's second goal, made three big saves over the ensuing three minutes to keep it a one-goal game at the break, and more importantly preserve the Owls' momentum.  She made nine saves overall, continuing an impressive start to her career that has seen her make 45 stops in 338:11 while compiling a 4-0 record.

KSC dominated the third quarter to flip around the game.  At first, they came up empty on a number of chances, with two being blocked, one high, and one saved in a minute and a half span midway through the period.  The dam broke with barely over four minutes to go on another goal from a corner, this time from the Owls as Molly Murray passed into Stefanakos beyond the top of the circle.  She then fired toward goal, where Norah Bargatti nearly corralled it, but the ball found Murray behind her just inches from where she began the play to make it 2-2, beating Antonucci on nearly a no-angle goal.

The Owls fended off three consecutive corners in 19 seconds and saw Nicotera make another of her nine saves a minute after that to keep the game tied, and KSC then jumped in front for the first time with less than two minutes to go in the third after scoring in transition.  Grace Bazin rushed up the left side and found Piasecki ahead of her, with the duo executing a perfect give-and-go before Bazin then found Meghan Daileanes right in front of the goal.  Antonucci came out to deny that, and in the process tripped up Daileanes, but the ball found its way over to Piasecki by the near post and she did not miss.

Each team still had another scoring chance in the quarter, including a KSC corner with just two seconds to go, but a shot by Seabury was blocked and PSU cleared.
Leading 3-2, Nicotera came up big in a fourth quarter that was mostly controlled by the Panthers, who outshot the Owls 8-1.  No sequence was bigger than when KSC's first year goalkeeper made four saves in 12 seconds on a Plymouth corner chance in the 54th minute.  She also denied Adamske with 6:27 to go.  Keene State clamped down from there, holding PSU without a shot for the final six minutes to improve to 3-0 in the conference and 5-2 away from home.

"Plymouth came out strong early on and outplayed us," said KSC head coach Amy Watson.  "We made some adjustments at the half which gave us the momentum we needed to get back into the game."

The Panthers, who opened LEC play with a 4-1 home win over Western Connecticut State University last Saturday but has lost four of six, got five stops from Antonucci.
It was the first meeting between the sides since a semifinal in last year's Little East tournament semifinals in Keene, also a 3-2 win for the Owls.

It was the first game this season that neither of KSC's leading offensive options, Bazin and Stefanakos (combined 27 goals and 73 points), recorded a point – but the Owls' improved offensive depth helped them push through, with Murray and Piasecki having combined for 12 goals of their own on the campaign.

The Owls return home for a pair of home games this week, including a tilt with Western New England University (7-6) on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30 p.m.  KSC has just three regular season home games remaining.  Plymouth hosts Husson University (6-5) next Saturday (October 19) at 12:00 p.m.