KEENE, N.H. – Lexi Yost scored a game-tying goal with less than four minutes to go and Eva Wood buried what turned out to be the game-winning goal with 43.9 seconds left as Roger Williams University overcame two different deficits to down the Keene State College field hockey team 3-2 in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Highlights...coming soon
Postgame Interview (Coach Smith)...coming soon
It was a game where the Owls (9-7) did plenty of good things against a team coming off a big double overtime home win against Endicott College, and one ranked in the top 50 nationally in the NCAA Power Index (NPI) – but in the end, in a season full of nail-biting affairs, KSC was left with a sour taste as they fell to 5-7 in games decided by one-goal (losing five of their last six decided by that margin) and to 5-3 at home. The Owls have played 16 games overall, with a whopping three quarters (12) of them with just a goal of separation.
Up until the last four minutes, it seemed KSC might pick up one of their strongest victories of the season, holding an 8-2 edge in corners over the opening three quarters including having seven straight. They had two different leads, including a beautiful tip-in goal by
Meghan Daileanes off a pass from
Emma Bazin to loft a ball past RWU goalkeeper Meili Raspante just 3:50 in. The tally – her 10th of the season – also brought her within one point of 100 for her collegiate career. Wood notched her first of the game to answer just 49 seconds later, beating
Tori Kelly with a spinning shot that initially developed off a transition chance by Roger Williams as both teams scored on their first credited shot of the afternoon.
Kelly made four stops over the remainder of the first quarter to keep the game tied, and the Owls then controlled the action stats-wise over the ensuing two frames even if possession time remained more even, outshooting the visitors 10-5 and recording all seven corners. KSC eventually retook the lead with 2:46 left in the third when Daileanes facilitated to become the 14th Owl ever to reach 100 career points, with her three-point effort on the day breaking a tie with Erin Dallas (98 points; 28 goals, 42 assists from 2007-2009).
Elyse Picard began the go-ahead goal with a restart near midfield and passed off to her left and Daileanes rushing up the middle and into the circle. She drew two Hawk defenders, stopped and spun, placing a ball to Dickenson who nicked the ball past an aggressive Raspante coming out, and the ball trickled into the net to make it 2-1 KSC.
Roger Williams pushed aggressively in the fourth, but Kelly made six stops in the opening 10 minutes of the quarter and
Belle Hemond was strong defensively including a defensive save 55 seconds in to keep the Owls in front, but the visitors' press and KSC's inability to cycle the ball up the field eventually proved costly.
Kelly finished with 16 saves in the losing effort, while Raspante made a pair of stops for the Hawks, who won 3-1 a season ago in Rhode Island in the first ever meeting between the two programs.
RWU had 15 of their credited 26 shots in the fourth quarter and all four corner opportunities.
Keene State has only three games remaining – all in league play – in the regular season. They will welcome the University of Massachusetts-Boston to town on Saturday (October 24) for a 1:00 p.m. start. The Beacons, a first-year program, are 0-14 and 0-4 in the LEC. KSC sits at 2-2 in the conference, tied with Eastern Connecticut State University and Vermont State University Castleton. The Owls take on the Spartans next Tuesday and the University of Southern Maine on Halloween (11-6, 4-0 LEC) to conclude their 2026 slate.
