KEENE, N.H. – Western Connecticut State University recorded just three shots – including only one in the second half – but two found the back of the cage and that proved to be enough as the Wolves handed the Keene State College field hockey team a stunning 2-1 loss in Little East Conference action at the Owl Athletic Complex on Friday evening.
KSC (7-6, 1-2 LEC) had beaten WestConn (7-7, 1-2 LEC) in all 21 all-time meetings including a 12-0 mark in Keene, but the Owls' goal-scoring drought extended to a fourth consecutive game – falling 2-1 in each of those contests.
The Wolves, who had lost their only two league games including to a University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth team that KSC beat 7-0, played from ahead 3:25 in when Ellenoire Schoen took a feed from Madison Preston right in front and had an open cage to shoot at after
Tori Kelly came out to try to deny Preston, WestConn's leading scorer who decided to pass to her left to help create the tally. The play originated off a KSC turnover and gave the Wolves a de-facto transition rush into the circle with a near two-on-one with defenders trailing.
From there, despite the Owls territorially and statistically dominating the game, the score remained 1-0 until the 42nd minute as Jaden Kilmer made 14 saves over the opening three quarters and 16 overall.
WestConn's only shot attempt of the second half proved to be a critical goal, and it was developed almost entirely by Preston, who received a pass up the right sideline by Erin Frank, weaved around
Belle Hemond, and charged toward the cage before beating Kelly with 3:46 to go in the third to make it 2-0.
KSC made it interesting with a little over nine minutes to go in regulation as
Kayln Arnold executed a beautiful tip-in goal off a blast from the top from
Emma Bazin after
Grace Seabury's corner insert. But the Owls did not get another shot on target, seeing two whistle wide and another blocked. KSC played with the goalie pulled for the final 6:26 searching for an equalizer but came up empty on a pair of corner tries. The Owls finished with a 17-0 lead in penalty corners to go along with a whopping 28-3 advantage in shots (17-1 in the second half).
The result was a stunner, with WestConn having recently lost three straight before ending the slide with a 5-3 road win at 3-8 University of Hartford. The Owls, meanwhile, were returning home following a four-game road trip that included a 4-3 win and three 2-1 losses, one in overtime to a nationally-ranked team. With eyes toward attempting to defend their conference championship, they hoped to get back over .500 in the league after a surprising 2-1 loss at Plymouth State University last week, but they fell to 4-6 in one-goal games. A whopping 10 of their 13 games overall have been decided by a single goal. The Wolves entered the day with the Owl Athletic Complex having been a house of horrors, getting outscored 64-12 in the previous 12 meetings in the Elm City, allowing at least seven goals five times.
The Owls remain home to host Clark University (5-6, 0-4 NEWMAC) on Wednesday, October 14 for a 6:00 p.m. start. The game is an Owls 4 Owls game, an initiative backed by the Keene State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to drive athletic support including student-to-student support from fellow KSC teams.
