Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Keene State College athletic department has already had two teams successfully defend their Little East Conference championships this fall. Saturday, the Owls will look to make it three as the field hockey earned their way into the league title game for a remarkable 24th time in 28 chances, downing Plymouth State University 3-1 on the road in a semifinal game Thursday evening at Panther Field.
It was a very different and much happier ending at the same venue where, at the time, KSC (14-7) suffered one of their more surprising losses of the season, falling 2-1 to the then-one win Panthers (7-12) on October 2. It was part of a four-game slide that saw the Owls muster just one goal in four straight games, all 2-1 losses that put them in jeopardy in the conference standings. Now? Seven wins in eight games later, and with 11 goals under their belt in two postseason games, KSC is back where they have been so many times – playing for a league trophy and an NCAA tournament automatic bid on the first weekend of November. Saturday, the No. 3 seeded Owls will travel to face top-seeded University of Southern Maine in the second meeting in a week between the two sides, with USM having knocked out fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University convincingly, 6-1 on their home field tonight in a game that started an hour and a half after KSC. The Owls handed the Huskies their only conference loss on Halloween, beating them 2-1 in Keene.
In the regular season meeting against the rival Panthers, KSC fell behind 2-0 by halftime, allowing a goal in each of the first two quarters, and never recovered despite a 16-5 edge in shots in the final 30 minutes. That script flipped, too, as thanks to a memorable career-first goal from
Charleigh Bohannon on a beautiful tip right in front of the cage, the Owls played in front just 10:07 in.
Meghan Daileanes added another with 9:37 left until halftime to make it 2-0, tying for the team lead with 14 goals, and KSC pummeled the Panthers in the first half to the tune of a 20-3 shots advantage including 15-1 in the second quarter alone. The Owls did have to kill off three late PSU corners in the final two minutes of the half, holding them shotless in the final two after Claire Toleman hit the post on the first.
Toleman did get on the board early in the second half as the home team sliced their deficit in half with the very early flurry in the opening minute, as Sarah Adamske hit the post before Toleman whacked home the rebound. It seemed like the home team made it a game, but KSC held them without a shot over the next 10 minutes and got the goal right back in the 39th minute when
Elyse Picard inserted a corner play to
Norah Bargatti, who ripped a skipping shot past Natalie Merrick from the top of the circle to make it 3-1. It is the Owl junior's fourth goal in the last five games, with her career-first goal against the University of Massachusetts-Boston in a 10-0 win opening the flood gates. It is also the second straight game she has sizzled a shot in from the top of the circle on a corner.
Ahead by two,
Tori Kelly made three saves over the final 20 minutes to help seal the win. She finished with five saves in the winning effort. Merrick stopped 15 but took the loss, with her team ultimately getting outshot 35-11.
"I am so proud of this team tonight," said Keene State head coach
Leslie Smith. "We made the necessary adjustments tonight from our previous game against Plymouth, coupled with an incredible amount of passion. It is a privilege we get to train tomorrow to compete for a championship on Saturday. The job is not done."
KSC has won 13 of 14 postseason games against the Panthers all-time and is 36-11-1 overall in the series.
In a remarkable run, Keene State has qualified for the LEC championship game in 24 of 28 tournaments, only
not making it in 2001, 2002, 2010, and 2022. The Owls have won 16 championships, winning each of the last two years by a goal on the road (3-2 at Vermont State University Castleton in 2024 and 1-0 at Eastern Connecticut last season).
The Owls and Huskies will meet for the 15th time in postseason history at Hannaford Field on Saturday at a time to be determined. KSC has won 10 of the 14 meetings, including a memorable nail-biting 3-2 victory in a penalty shootout last year that saw
Grace Bazin tie it with a penalty stroke in the final 20 seconds of regulation as the Owls overcame a 2-0 deficit. Southern Maine played the final 20 minutes and both overtimes down a player after a red card.
