KEENE, N.H. – Makena Valentine and Kate Kelso scored within 2:02 of each other spanning the third and fourth quarters as the University of New England turned a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead and eventually posted a 3-2 victory over the Keene State College field hockey team in non-conference action Tuesday night at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Highlights
Postgame Interview (Coach Watson)
It was a tough loss for the Owls (9-4), who have dropped four of their last seven games after a 6-0 start. KSC fell behind only 1:53 in when Riley Zielinski flicked a puck toward the cage from the left side and it found its way in through traffic, but bounced back with a pair of goals in the second quarter to take a halftime lead.
Grace Seabury tied it after whacking in a feed from
Jennifer Erikson after the Owls' forward made a nice move around defender Shelly Tremblay. The chance had originated with a Seabury chance right in front, but a pair of Nor'easter defenders and goalkeeper Greta Jennison kept the initial bid out before Erikson jumped on the spot. Jennison then later kicked away another try by Seabury with 3:45 left until halftime.
KSC took their first lead with a little less than two minutes to go in the second quarter off a transition breakaway goal that originated with an
Elyse Picard block on a UNE corner chance, as she corralled the ball and fired it up to the midfield area, where Seabury then played a streaking
Grace Bazin in alone on Jennison. Division III's leading scorer made a move toward her right past the UNE keeper, who was well out of her cage, and fired it in for her 23rd goal of the season. The Westminster, Vt. native, who is a UNE transfer, has still scored in all but one game this season. KSC would nurse a 2-1 lead into the break, erasing the sting of the early goal allowed.
The third quarter featured huge momentum changes on both sides. UNE had a pair of chances early, but shot wide twice to keep it 2-1. Keene State's biggest chance of the game came halfway through the third when they were awarded a penalty stroke, but Jennison came up with a huge stop on Bazin to prevent a two-goal deficit. Seven minutes later, with 33 seconds left in the third, the game was tied when Makena Valentine fired from distance and scored to make it 2-2.
Just 1:29 into the fourth the Nor'easters retook the lead off a KSC turnover following a restart, as Gianna Korisianos charged into the circle and fired a nice centering feed to Kate Kelso, who buried it for the eventual game-winner. Jennison came up with three big stops on Grace and
Emma Bazin in a three-minute span midway through the quarter to keep her team ahead, and UNE then drained the clock in the final minutes to beat the Owls for the seventh time in 10 meetings.
The game featured two teams near each other in the initial NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings, with the Owls at No. 41 and UNE at No. 47. The NPI rankings determine selections and seedings for all NCAA Division III tournaments, debuting in the 2024-2025 season. The Owls were No. 43 in last year's first rankings and No. 54 when the selection rankings were released.
KSC gets back into conference play with a road contest at Western Connecticut State University (4-6, 1-1 LEC) on Saturday (October 11) at 3:00 p.m. The Wolves have lost five of their last six and have never beaten the Owls in 21 tries.
