WATERVILLE, Maine – It was not the start the Keene State College field hockey team wanted on Saturday after a nearly four-hour trip to Waterville, Maine to take on an unfamiliar, first-time opponent. But the Owls were smiling by the end of the day, again demonstrating fight, as KSC rallied from a 2-0 deficit 10 minutes into the game to post a 4-3 victory over Thomas College at Bernatchez Field in non-conference action on a Saturday afternoon where some parts of New England were impacted by an early-season nor'easter.
Tatiana Roque scored three minutes in before Celia Stinson made it 2-0 in only the 11th minute as the host Terriers (2-7) took a quick lead, but KSC – as they have often done this season – responded quickly and did not let the hosts settle in. First, first year standout and scoring machine
Henley Gilstrap potted her 11th goal of the season off a feed from
Emma Bazin with 1:34 left in the opening quarter to cut the lead in half, and then
Elyse Picard and
Meghan Daileanes each scored in span of less than six minutes spanning halftime as the Owls tied it 3-3. Picard's goal off a pass from
Kayln Arnold was critically important not only due to the looming halftime break, but also because it came just 55 seconds after Thomas had retaken a two-goal advantage on Stinson's second goal of the day. Less than seven minutes later, the home team's lead was gone entirely.
Defenses took over as the day went on, especially for the Owls, who allowed just three corners and five shots after halftime including one shot in the fourth quarter. KSC nursed a one-goal lead, their first of the day, over the game's final 11:48 as Picard found Bazin off an offensive corner to make it 4-3. The Terriers' only big opportunity for a tie came when they were awarded a corner with 5:15 to go, but
Tori Kelly made a big top on leading scorer Samantha Thebarge, who was held off the scoresheet on the day after entering with a team-leading nine goals in eight games.
Keene State once again spread the wealth offensively, with four different people scoring and three having assists. Picard and Bazin each finished with a goal and an assist. The Owls also rallied to win after allowing the first goal for the third time in the last six games, also erasing a 2-0 deficit on September 10 in a 4-3 home victory over Westfield State University.
Kelly finished with five saves in the KSC cage in the winning effort. Eliya Drummond and Mackenzie Toner split the game in goal, each allowing two while making a pair of stops in 30 minutes.
Thomas has lost seven of their first nine, including a pair to nationally-ranked opponents on a road trip to Virginia, but was playing just their third home game of the season today and fell to 2-1 at Bernatchez Field.
Keene State continues a stretch of four straight road games at nationally-ranked Endicott College (7-2, 3-0 CNE) on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. The Gulls, currently No. 15, beat the Owls in the regular season after pulling away late in the first half, and then knocked KSC out of the NCAA tournament in the first round a season ago.
