GORHAM, Maine – The Keene State College field hockey team did quite a bit well on Saturday afternoon. They had a 15-5 edge in shots and held the University of Southern Maine to just two shots on goal. They had a 15-3 edge in penalty corners. They started fast, earning eight of the nine corners in the first quarter alone. They held USM without a shot in the fourth quarter and had seven themselves. Unfortunately for the Owls, the Huskies' lone goal in the 22nd minute proved to be the game-winner as KSC was denied a Little East Conference three-peat, falling 1-0 in the championship game at Hannaford Field.
It was the Owls' (14-8) remarkable 24th appearance in the title game in 28 all-time tournaments, with KSC having won seven of eight to reach the final against a top-seeded Southern Maine team that the Owls beat as part of that stretch, 2-1 last weekend on Halloween to spoil their unbeaten conference regular season. The box score stats all pointed to KSC backing up that victory with another – which would have been their third consecutive road win in the conference championship – but the Owls could not get a shot past Haylee Romasco, who authored a seven-save shutout. Julia Elie also added a defensive save in the fourth quarter with 11:21 to go as Keene State generated chance after chance.
Among Southern Maine's (15-7) only sustained offensive pressure came their lone goal halfway through the second quarter. Addison Battis recorded the home team's first shot of any kind 20 minutes in, and it was her second nearly two minutes later that proved to be the difference as Bri Townsend found her with the helper to put the Huskies up 1-0. KSC had a chance with a corner in the final eight seconds of the half, but
Ella DiMatteo's shot went wide.
Tori Kelly made an early stop on Leah Thibodeau 1:43 into the third quarter to keep it a 1-0 game, and KSC took over from there. The Owls' best remaining chances came in an early flurry in the fourth quarter, as they won three corner chances in the opening three minutes, but Romasco made a pair of saves in the ensuing action. She also stopped Daileanes, who scored the Owls' lone goal in the fourth quarter of a 1-0 road win last season at Eastern Connecticut State University that delivered their 16th Little East title, twice in 28 seconds as the clock ticked toward nine minutes to go.
"It is hard to comprehend a loss like this when you dominate the game," said KSC head coach
Leslie Smith. "You analyze every play, every corner, and every touch. But the reality is we played a great game of field hockey tonight, we just could not capitalize on our opportunities."
"I am incredibly proud of this team and the season we had," she added. They trained and competed with so much passion and courage. Our seniors were driving force behind the success of this season and I am incredibly grateful for their leadership on and off the field. Thank you to all the alumni, family, friends, and fans who supported us this season at home and on the road. Go Owls!"
KSC played a remarkable 14 one-goal games (of 22 total) and finished 6-8 in those contests. Six of the losses by one goal saw the Owls limit their opponent to two goals or less.
Daileanes, a senior, and first year
Henley Gilstrap (who missed the final eight games due to injury) tied for the team lead with 14 goals apiece, with Daileanes finishing her 89-game career at KSC with 45 goals and 23 assists. Her 113 career points rank 12th on the Owls' all-time career list.
Southern Maine's win snapped a four-game losing streak in the series and delivered the Huskies their third conference title, joining 2003 and 2023. KSC leads the all-time series 35-9.
Smith will look to supplement the returning KSC group further as she enters her second season at the helm off a 14-8 campaign in her first season, a year that saw the Owls adapt after program leader Amy Watson retired following an illustrious career and
Grace Bazin, off the best goal scoring single-season in program history, graduated.
