NEW LONDON, N.H. – Abby Olden scored with 20 seconds left in the first half to give Colby-Sawyer College their third different lead of the opening half, and after a first 30 minutes that saw a combined five goals scored, that tally stood up as the winner despite a late Owl onslaught as the Keene State College field hockey team lost 3-2 to the Chargers on Saturday at Sally Shaw Veitch Field.
The Owls (4-1) had a 6-2 advantage in penalty corners in the opening half but mustered only five shots – though they did score on two of them. Brooke Farquhar opened the scoring just 5:42 in after slotting home Jillian Fredette's centering feed following a transition rush up the right side as the Chargers forced KSC to play from behind for the second straight game. Just like in Wednesday night's victory over Westfield State University, the Owls did not trail for long. Impressive first year forward
Henley Gilstrap jumped on a loose ball right near Sophie Krauss and found the back of the cage for an unassisted goal just 4:17 later to tie it at one.
Colby-Sawyer regained the edge in the second quarter when Lily Goerlich carried up the right side and found Fredette at the top of the circle, who then tapped a pass over to Farquhar who beat KSC keeper
Tori Kelly to her stick side. The Chargers' lead did not even last two minutes this time, as
Lilah Carr answered just 1:34 later as the Owls charged into the circle up their own right side and tied it 2-2.
Keene State allowed a deflating goal very late in the half as Olden capitalized on a blast from the top of the circle off a corner with 20 seconds left to put the home team back ahead 3-2.
A game that featured offense galore in the first half turned defensive in the second half, with the teams combining for just four shots in the third quarter and one on target – a save by Kelly on Fredette in the 35th minute. KSC has just one recorded shot attempt in the third quarter, a blocked try from
Emma Bazin on a corner 2:22 out of the locker room.
After nearly 14 minutes without a shot, still trailing 3-2, the Owls peppered Colby-Sawyer in the fourth quarter after two important saves by Kelly on Olden in the opening minute-plus. KSC had three straight corners a minute later, but Krauss made two saves and Olden a defensive save on a shot by
Norah Bargatti on the final attempt. Reese Holcomb also cleared away a bid for a game-tying tally from Gilstrap with 5:18 to go, and Krauss made two more saves in the final three minutes to preserve the Chargers' win including one on
Grace Seabury with 23 seconds to go.
"Honestly, we just did not play our game today," said Keene State head coach
Leslie Smith. "A three-game week with two games on the road is a challenging schedule, and we had to spend each practice preparing for the next opponent. So we are excited to be able to focus on us come Monday and refocus on our playing principles. You win or you learn, and I think we learned a lot about ourselves in this game today."
KSC finished with a 15-12 shots edge, including 9-3 in the fourth quarter. They also had 14 of 21 corners, including seven of the eight in the final 15 minutes.
The win is just the third in 10 all-time meetings for Colby-Sawyer in the series.
Gilstrap's goal gives the KSC rookie a team-high seven in five games this season and also leads Division III first years. Carr now has two goals and two assists on the campaign.
Krauss finished with six saves in the winning effort for the Chargers while Kelly made three stops for KSC.
The Owls return home for three straight at the Owl Athletic Complex, beginning with a matchup against Western New England University (3-1, 1-0 CNE) on Wednesday (September 16) at 4:00 p.m. The Golden Bears beat winless Gordon College 2-0 in their conference opener today.
