KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College field hockey team had a number of chances and possession in the circle in the opening half along with six penalty corner chances, but came up empty and 12th-ranked Endicott College used two goals in less than three minutes late in the second quarter to balloon a one-goal lead to 3-0 in an eventual 5-0 win at the Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.
Postgame Interview (Coach Watson)
It was the first loss for KSC (8-3) at home this season and the first ever on their home field (5-1) against the Gulls, who moved up 11 spots in the most recent Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III national coaches' poll after stunning top-ranked and seven-time NCAA national champion Middlebury College on Sunday. The Owls were searching for their first win over a nationally-ranked team in 15 years.
Much like last year's meeting in Beverly, Endicott struck quickly, taking a 1-0 lead just 2:14 when Maddy Dengler put a ball into the middle and Tori Swanson tried to whack it past KSC keeper
Clara Gorman, who came out to deny her. Gorman did get a piece of it, but the ball fell to Lily Farnham unmarked by the left post for a tap in goal into an empty cage.
Gorman stopped Swanson, the Gulls' all-time leading scorer, in the fourth minute, and from there for the next 20 minutes, KSC had plenty of chances – but came up empty. Endicott goalkeeper Faith Minickene made three first quarter stops, including two on
Grace Seabury and one on Division III national goals leader
Grace Bazin. She also denied
Emma Bazin and
Alessandra Vidal in the opening minute and a half of the second quarter.
The 1-0 game unraveled for the Owls late in the first half, with the visitors pressuring with 6:30 to go. Dengler nearly had a remarkable tip-in goal and
Elyse Picard then kept out a rebound chance, but the referee whistled for a penalty stroke, which Riley Perkins lofted into the top right part of the cage to make it 2-0. Perkins then connected with Swanson on a shot from distance with 3:46 left in the half to make it 3-0, with the Gulls scoring twice in 2:47. Minickene stopped
Grace Bazin once more to keep the Owls off the board in the 28th minute, and KSC could not capitalize on a green card to Sydney Cappallo in the final 1:15.
The Owls pushed right out of the halftime locker room to try to get back into the game, but came up empty on two more corners – holding an 8-3 advantage in that category over the opening 35 minutes. Minickene stopped Seabury and
Meghan Daileanes in the opening 4:01 of the third quarter, the final two of her nine saves in a shutout effort on the evening.
Swanson buried the Owls with two goals in 2:28 later in the period – moving her career total to 73 – to give Endicott a 5-0 advantage with 4:39 left in the third.
KSC wound up being outshot 23-18 in the game, including by an 11-2 margin in the final quarter. Endicott edged the Owls in corner chances 9-8, though six of those came in the fourth after KSC had come up empty on their chances in the opening 35 minutes.
The meeting was the first between the two teams in Keene since 2011 after the series resumed last year, when Endicott won 4-1 in Beverly behind three goals in the opening five minutes.
Bazin had four shots on the night but was held off the scoreboard for the first time this season.
Keene State continues conference play with a home matchup against Plymouth State University (4-4) on Saturday, October 4 at 3:00 p.m. The Panthers had a four-game winning streak snapped in a 1-0 home loss to Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) on Tuesday.
