NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Smith College scored twice in a little over six minutes spanning the third and fourth quarters to turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead and the Bears went on to a 3-2 victory over the Keene State College field hockey team in non-conference action Tuesday night.

KSC (7-2) has dropped two of three since a 6-0 start and has lost four in a row in Northampton in the series, allowing at least three goals in each game.  Their last road win over Smith was a 2-1 decision in 2016 – since then they have lost 4-1, 4-3, 4-0, and 3-2 there.  The Owls have dropped four of five to Smith overall, with the lone win coming last year in Keene when they opened a 6-0 lead en route to a 10-0 start.

After a scoreless opening quarter in which the teams totaled just five shots, Keene State scored on two of their three recorded shots in the second, with Grace Bazin giving the Owls the lead in the 18th minute with her 17th goal of the season off a feed from Grace Seabury.  Halie Yung answered just 3:43 later for the Bears to tie it, but KSC took a 2-1 lead into the locker room when Meghan Daileanes potted her fifth of the season with three minutes to go.

The Owls had three corner opportunities to begin the second half in the opening two minutes, but Iseul Park denied Seabury, Bazin shot wide, and KSC did not get a shot on the third chance.  From there, the Bears tilted the field in their direction steadily as the half went on, with KSC keeper Clara Gorman making five stops over the next 11 minutes before Callahan Day broke through with 1:40 to go in the quarter to tie the game.

Park stopped Emma Bazin twice in quick succession late in the third to keep it 2-2, and Gorman denied Yung in the final seconds to send it to the fourth.

KSC had a shotless corner attempt in the opening two minutes of the final stanza, and a penalty stroke less than three minutes later wound up being the difference.  Gorman made a stop on Day just seconds before, but the Owls did not clear and were whistled for an infraction preventing a clear scoring chance, and Annika Peterson converted to give Smith their first lead (3-2) with 10:30 to go.

The Owls did not have a recorded shot in the fourth quarter and had a season-low nine overall.  Smith outshot KSC 14-4 in the second half and 23-9 overall, though the Owls had six of 10 corner chances in the game.

"Smith was a strong team," said KSC head coach Amy Watson.  "We played tough against them but ultimately gave up one too many."

Bazin has scored in all nine games this season.

The Owls return home for four straight at the Owl Athletic Complex, beginning with a matchup against Husson University on Saturday (September 27) at 1:30 p.m.