NASHUA, N.H. – The Keene State College field hockey team scored twice in the first half to erase an early deficit and two more times in the third quarter to pull away as they posted a 4-2 road victory over Rivier University in non-conference action Tuesday night at Joanne Merrill Field.
The Owls (11-2) scored four or more goals for the ninth time in 13 games this season, remaining unbeaten when doing so. KSC snapped a two-game road losing streak in the process. Rivier (3-8) lost for the eighth time in 10 games, though was coming off a 3-2 overtime victory over Lasell University on their home field last weekend.
Despite being outshot 44-17, it was actually the Raiders who threatened first and cashed in.
Katelyn Nicotera initially denied a shot from Reilly Swislosky three minutes in, but Kayla Miles was there to corral the rebound and give it back to Swislosky, who moved closer and to her right to open the scoring.
The Owls took over for most of the rest of the quarter from there, eventually breaking through to tie the game with 11 seconds to go.
Molly Murray began a corner play by inserting to
Megan Goodwin, who passed to her left and
Irini Stefanakos. She then passed over to
Hannah Wood on the right as the Owls weaved in, with Stefanakos getting the ball back before firing toward the near post where Murray was there to redirect it in.
KSC dominated the second quarter, through Rivier goaltender Kylie Coupal kept it tied with four saves (and 18 overall). The Owls eventually broke through again in the 25th minute, charging into the circle behind Stefanakos and Daileanes. Daileanes then fired into the middle, where Coupal stopped a nifty tip in mid-air by
Grace Bazin. However, the rebound came out front and Rivier was unable to clear, allowing Stefanakos to fire and beat Coupal to her left for a 2-1 advantage.
The Owls would carry that lead into the break, outshooting the Raiders 16-6 in the opening 30 minutes.
The pair of Graces would put the game away in the third quarter as KSC peppered the Rivier cage, scoring twice in 12-minute span. Right out of the locker room just 1:28 in, the Owls made good on a corner opportunity with traffic in front. Murray passed to Stefanakos at the top of the circle, who passed to her left and Goodwin, who fired into the middle where the ball bounced around and found
Grace Seabury for a 3-1 lead. KSC extended the lead to 4-1 with a little over a minute to go in the period as Murray clogged the midfield and passed off to Stefanakos, who gave to Bazin rushing into the circle. The Owls' leading scorer then carried to her right and fired a bouncer toward goal that got through Coupal with Seabury right in front. KSC outshot Rivier 13-2 in the third and 23-5 over the middle two quarters to take complete command. The home team did get one back on an impressive individual effort by Madison Bovill, who corralled a pass well outside the circle and carried up the right side, beating a pair of defenders and rifling a shot to the far post that went in.
Nicotera made a pair of stops in the first half for KSC, while Gorman had six saves in the second half as they split time in the cage.
"We had a slow start tonight. Fortunately, we got some strong play off the bench to help change the momentum," said Keene State head coach
Amy Watson, who is now just six wins away from 500 for her career. "We have some tough league games coming up, so we need to come together to play a full 60 minutes."
KSC's lowest quarter shot total (6) of the night did come in the first quarter, and they trailed for 11:43 before Murray's tying goal.
The Owls have won both meetings in a series that began last year with a 7-3 KSC win at home.
Keene State is back in action this Saturday (October 12) at Plymouth State University for a 12:00 p.m. start. The Panthers (5-5, 1-0 LEC) were stomped by Thomas College 7-0 in Maine tonight, though are 3-0 on their home field this season.
