KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College field hockey team entered Tuesday night's conference game against Vermont State University Castleton with the likely goal of putting back-to-back tough losses, one of which that cost them the No. 1 seed in the Little East Conference, behind them.  Mission accomplished.  Grace Bazin added two more goals to her whopping total within the first 10 minutes and the Owls kept scoring from there while holding the Spartans to just three shots in the game as they rolled to a 6-0 victory at the Owl Athletic Complex in what was the first meeting between the two programs since last season's conference championship game.

Bazin upped her season goal total to an eye-popping 35, now just one behind Sami Smith's single-season program record of 36 goals set in 2016.  The Westminster, Vt. native has scored in all but one game this season and now has 11 multi-goal games in 2025.  She added a multi-assist game tonight, a pair of beauties – one to her sister Emma off a corner in the 27th minute to make it 4-0 and another to Grace Seabury for a pretty finish just 36 seconds out of halftime for a 5-0 KSC lead – and her 182 career points are now just six away from sole possession of second place on the Owls' all-time career list.  Even more?  Bazin has done it in only three years.  Her 80 career goals with KSC are tied for second place on that career list with Nina Bruno (2017-2020), 10 off Sami Smith's 90 from 2013-2016.

It was a night that went downhill rapidly for Castleton (7-9, 3-3 LEC), who had beaten the Owls 6-1 in the regular season meeting last year before KSC earned payback at the same venue in the championship, a 3-2 win in which the Owls answered the home team's goal 2:49 in with three goals in less than eight minutes.  Tonight, Castleton was suffocated by KSC, getting blanked for the fourth time this season.  Two of their three total shots came in the opening quarter – one wide and one blocked off corner chances. Three of their five corners came in the first quarter, and the other two in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Keene State (12-6, 4-1 LEC) kept scoring and scoring.  Bazin scored twice in 1:37 early to stake the Owls to a 2-0 lead, and markers from Elyse Picard and Emma Bazin midway through the second quarter doubled the lead.  Seabury's eighth of the season just 36 seconds into the third – making it three goals in 6:45 – put the Owls up five, and Seabury then found Daileanes with a nice centering pass that she quickly flicked home to make it 6-0.

The Owl Athletic Complex remains a house of horrors for the Spartans, who are 1-10 all-time in Keene and have been outscored 56-13.  KSC has scored at least three goals in every home game against Castleton and at least five, five times.  The Owls posted a 5-3 home win in the series two years ago and, the time before that, won 9-2 in 2021.

The Owls had a 17-3 advantage in shots on goal including 13-1 on target.

Molly Diamondstein got her second consecutive start in the KSC cage and notched her first career shutout, making one save (and clearing the ball to nearly half field).  Zoe Martin made seven saves for Castleton in 55:34.

Unlike in men's and women's soccer – where 81 possible scenarios exist on each side entering Wednesday's final day of the regular season – the playoff permutations for field hockey are far more certain.  Keene State will travel to face the University of Southern Maine to close the regular season on Saturday (November 1) at 1:00 p.m., with the winner earning the No. 2 seed and a quarterfinal bye.  The loser will be the No. 3 seed and have to host the No. 6 seed (either Western Connecticut State University or Plymouth State University).  Eastern Connecticut State University has clinched the top seed and Castleton will be the No. 4 seed.  The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (2-15) has been eliminated from postseason contention.  KSC won last year's meeting against USM 5-2 in Keene and is 32-8 in the all-time series, but had dropped five of the previous seven before last year's win.  Bazin scored a pair of goals in that game – and should she do that again, will make a piece of KSC history heading into the postseason.