DANBURY, Conn. – Three different goal scorers staked the Keene State College field hockey team to a 3-0 halftime lead, and senior goal-scoring terror Grace Bazin tacked on a natural hat trick in a little over eight fourth quarter minutes as the Owls crushed Western Connecticut State University 6-1 in Little East Conference action at the Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.

KSC (10-4, 3-0 LEC) remains alone in first place in the league with four LEC games to go, leading Eastern Connecticut State University – next Saturday's opponent on Senior Day – by a half game despite the Warriors standing with a 6-7 overall record.  ECSU downed Vermont State University Castleton 2-1 at home today to hand the Spartans their first conference loss after previously dealing the University of Southern Maine a conference loss.  The Owls, meanwhile, have outscored conference opponents 17-3 in their three LEC victories.

It took the KSC offense about 10 minutes to get going, but once it did WestConn did not have many answers.  Grace Seabury opened the scoring at the 11:49 mark, slipping behind defenders and punching a beautiful Bazin pass around WCSU goalkeeper Jaden Kilmer.  Seabury was all over the place early, as she recorded two other shots – one saved by Kilmer and one wide – over the ensuing minute.  She also centered a ball from well outside the circle up the right side in the opening minute of the second quarter, but Emma Bazin fired wide on what would have been an impressive connection.

The Wolves had just two shot attempts over the final 22 minutes of the opening half as KSC pushed.  Kilmer denied Elyse Picard off a corner in the 17th minute and then Picard smashed a shot wide off another corner two minutes later.  Kilmer kicked out two more shot attempts in the 24th minute to keep her team within one, but the Owls broke through again with two goals in 2:45.  First, Meghan Daileanes broke into the circle up the right side and between two defenders, firing on Kilmer from about three yards out for a 2-0 lead.  Daileanes created the next opportunity also, setting up Seabury in front.  Her first shot hit the right post, but she corralled the rebound and fired again, where first year Lucy Dickenson was there to tip it in for a 3-0 advantage.  KSC outshot the Wolves 16-5 in the opening half and carried that same lead to the locker room.

Keene State did not land a shot on target in a slow third quarter, and after a pair of Clara Gorman stops, WestConn got one back when McKinley Soto scored with 27 seconds left in the period as she whacked home a loose ball that Gorman had initially stopped.

Reagan Schoen nearly made it a one-goal game two minutes into the final quarter, as Gorman aggressively came out and got a piece of her shot.  The ball tricked behind the Owls' keeper, but Picard swept it out of danger.

It was all KSC from there, as Bazin scored the first of her natural hat trick with 10 minutes to go, backing down a defenders and flicking a backhand into the back of the cage from a bad angle.  She scored again in similar fashion from out in front in the 57th minute to make it 5-1, and then tacked on another from a Seabury pass – her 26th of the season – just 2:31 later to set the final margin.

"We got some key contributions from our bench today, which was nice," said KSC head coach Amy Watson, who has 509 career wins.  "We had a solid first half of play.  We came out a little sluggish in the third quarter but were able to get back on track in the fourth."

Bazin's 26 goals match her total from last season and are just 11 away from setting a new KSC single-season record (36 by Sami Smith in 2016).  The Owls have had only three 30-goal seasons in program history, with Nina Bruno tallying 32 in 2018 and Tanya Strong 30 in 2003.  Bazin has 58 points this season also, leading Division III in both goals and points.

Keene State will visit Clark University (8-5, 0-5 NEWMAC) for a non-conference game on Wednesday, October 15 at 6:00 p.m. before hosting Eastern Connecticut on Senior Day next Saturday in an important LEC game.  Clark has lost three straight, getting outscored 9-2.