Field Hockey Drops 2-1 Decision to Keene State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Keene State College field hockey team posted a 2-1 victory over Little East Conference rival Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The Owls improve to 10-4 on the season with their sixth straight win, and remain tied atop the Little East standings with a perfect 7-0 conference mark. The Bears fall to 7-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Junior forward Sami Smith (Merrimack, N.H.) tallied a pair of goals to lead the Owls. Smith scored off the rebound of a Mariah Barnett (Saxtons River, Vt.) shot in the 12th minute as Keene took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

Smith extended the Owls' advantage to 2-0 less than three minutes into the second half with her conference leading 14th goal of the season. Junior midfielder Kayla Renaud (Somers, Conn.) sent her classmate in on a breakaway and Smith flipped a back-hander into the left side of the net.

Keene nearly converted on back-to-back penalty corners in the 52nd minute. Barnett rang the right post off the first corner and junior defender Marita Brothers (Stafford Springs, Conn.) hit the crossbar on the second.

The Bears cut the lead in half with just eight seconds left to play on a penalty corner as junior midfielder Brittany Cullinane (Lunenburg, Mass.) blasted a shot into the back of the net from just inside the circle off an assist from senior midfielder Mary Dubin (Holden, Mass.). The goal marked Cullinane's team-leading seventh of the season.

Keene held a 13-7 shot advantage as well as a slight 11-10 edge in penalty corners.

Senior keeper Meaghan Dwyer (Rutland, Mass.) made two saves between the pipes for the Owls, while junior netminder Kaylyn Allahyarian (Norwell, Mass.) turned aside five shots for the Bears.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday evening with non-conference games. The Bears travel to Salve Regina University for a seven o'clock game with the Seahawks, while the Owls entertain the Spartans of Castleton State College at 6:30.