KEENE, N.H. – Junior
Lilah Carr recorded a hat trick while freshman
Chloe Donohue scored her first two collegiate goals – and, remarkably, that made up only half of the goals on Saturday afternoon for the Keene State College field hockey team, as the Owls pulverized the University of Massachusetts-Boston 10-0 in a Little East Conference game at the Owl Athletic Complex after honoring their five seniors in a pregame ceremony.
The win helps the Owls (10-7, 3-2 LEC) bounce back from a tough late loss to Roger Williams University and move back over .500 in conference play, tied for third with Vermont State University Castleton (their opponent on the road Tuesday) with two regular season games to go. KSC has won three of their last four.
Facing a first-year program, the game was almost never a contest and was heavily lopsided in every statistical category for the Owls – not the least of which was the final credited shot count of 56-3.
KSC jumped on the board first 5:26 in when
Grace Seabury, a senior, opened the scoring.
Norah Bargatti potted her first career goal less than five minutes later off a corner feed from
Elyse Picard to make it 2-0. The Owls carried a three-goal lead into the locker room after
Emma Bazin scored her sixth goal of the season from
Meghan Daileanes, outshooting the Beacons (0-15, 0-5 LEC) 25-1 in the opening 30 minutes.
The flood gates exploded open in the second half, with the Owls unleashing an avalanche of goals – scoring seven goals over the final 20:30 to reach double-digits for the first time since October 19, 2024 in a 10-3 home win over Western Connecticut State University.
The first of Carr's hat trick, all of which came in the second half, made it 4-0 with 5:30 to go in the third quarter before
Chloe Donohue got into the scoring column for the first time in her career just barely over two minutes later.
Elle MacDonald notched an assist on consecutive goals, including a tally by Daileanes just 19 seconds into the fourth to make it 6-0. Seabury added two assists in the final 10 minutes, feeding Picard at the 51:49 mark and Carr's second goal with 2:52 left. Donohue added her second not even 13 minutes after her first sandwiched between, and Carr then polished off her hat trick with 1:43 left to round out the goal scoring barrage.
Tori Kelly made one save in the KSC cage to pick up the win. Elizabeth Crowley stopped a whopping 29 shots for UMass-Boston, who allowed their second-most goals and shots to an opponent this season.
KSC's matchup against Castleton (6-9, 3-2 LEC) on Tuesday (October 27) will begin at 6:00 p.m. before the Owls close the regular season at home next Saturday, on Halloween, against Southern Maine at 12:00 p.m. USM is currently 5-0 in conference play, followed by Plymouth State University at 4-1 despite a 6-10 overall record and then KSC and Castleton at 3-2.
