GORHAM, Maine – Senior Grace Bazin tied the Keene State College field hockey single-season goal record with a penalty stroke with a little over 10 minutes left to put the icing on the cake as the Owls clinched the No. 2 seed in the Little East Conference with a 3-1 road victory over the University of Southern Maine on Saturday at Hannaford Field.

The formula was simple for KSC (13-6, 5-1 LEC) to lock up second place, with comes with it a bye through the quarterfinals – win.  However, that scenario was also true for USM (11-9, 4-2 LEC), who could have bumped the Owls down to third place.  But the home team was never really in much of a position to win, as Meghan Daileanes and Emma Bazin scored six minutes apart spanning the first and second quarters to put KSC ahead 2-0 and the Owls relied on their defense from there, which shut out USM for the opening 55 minutes.

The Owls led 2-0 at halftime and then, after a scoreless third quarter for both teams and a shotless stanza for KSC, Grace Bazin converted a penalty stroke in the 50th minute with 10:27 to go to put the finishing touches on the win.  It was a momentous goal for the Westminster, Vt. native, tying Sami Smith's KSC single-season goal record total of 36, set in 2016.  Bazin can stand alone with one more goal as early as Thursday night, when the Owls will host a LEC tournament semifinal matchup against either the Huskies again – the No. 3 seed – or Plymouth State University, the No. 6 seed who had only one conference win.

There was not much left to determine on the final day of the regular season, as Eastern Connecticut State University had already clinched the top seed and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth had been eliminated.  KSC and USM played for the No. 2 seed, while Plymouth and WestConn also played for positioning, with the Wolves knocking down the Panthers another spot with a 3-2 home win.  WestConn, now the No. 5 seed, will visit No. 4 seeded Vermont State University Castleton on Tuesday.  The Spartans have been outscored 12-0 in their last two games.

KSC enters the postseason with by far the most lethal threat in the league, with Bazin leading the way in goals – 22 more than the next closest (Emma Sanson of ECSU).

Daileanes is sixth in the league in goals and moved into double-figures with her goal 12:59 in that put the Owls ahead 1-0.  The junior was all over the place early, shooting wide in the fifth minute and forcing Eleanor Folsom to make a save in the 12th minute while also inserting two corner chances.

Defensively, the Owls limited Southern Maine to just one corner in the first half and then kept it 2-0 in the third when the Huskies had four of their six corners.

"I'm happy with the game overall," said KSC head coach Amy Watson.  "It has been tough for us to win at USM, I feel like it has been several years since we have won up there.  We had a solid first half and fortunately capitalized on some opportunities.  They really came after us in the second half but our defense held them off."

KSC snapped a five-game losing streak at Hannaford Field that included a pair of Little East tournament losses.  The Owls' last win in Gorham before today came in 2018 – at that point they were 11-1 on the road against the Huskies.  KSC has dominated the series overall 33-8.

Molly Diamondstein got her third consecutive start in the cage for the Owls and improved to 2-1, making seven saves.  She has made 19 saves and allowed four goals over her three starts.  Folsom stopped six for USM.

Grace Seabury finished the regular season with 25 points (eight goals, nine assists) and Daileanes 24 points (10 goals, four assists).  Emma Bazin had six goals and a pair of assists, and Watson points to teamwork as being an important factor in determining how far the Owls will go this week – hoping to extend their head coach's tenure with another NCAA tournament appearance.

"I think fine-tuning our passing connections on the field will be a focus this week," said Watson.  "At this point in the season you need to work well as a unit to succeed."

The semifinal on Thursday night (November 6) will begin at 6:00 p.m.