Field Hockey Falls to Little East Rival Keene State, 8-1

KEENE, N.H. -- Four goals in less than four minutes sent the Keene State College field hockey team to an 8-1 Little East Conference (LEC) win over visiting Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.

The host Owls improve to 9-3 and remain unbeaten in Little East play with a perfect 6-0 conference mark. The Bears fall to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in the LEC.

Erica Stauffer had a hat-trick, while Sami Smith had two goals and Kendal Brown, Hannah Cook, and Marita Brothers each scored once.  Brittney Cardente had a pair of assists.

The Owls kept Bridgewater State goalie Allison Chappell busy, out shooting the Bears 39-7. Chappell finished with a career-high 23 saves for BSU.

Three goalies saw time for the Owls; Gwendolyn Thayer started and made two saves in 26 minutes of work, followed by Jordan LaRaus, who made one stop in 31 minutes of action. Kendra Lonergan came on for the final 12:50 and made one stop.

Brittany Cullinane got the lone goal for the Bears.

In the first half, the Owls used their penalty corners to good advantage, scoring three of their first four goals following corners. The first goal came in the eighth minute, as Stauffer slid a pass to Smith, who fired it high into the roof of the cage for an early lead.

Fifty-seven seconds later, Smith doubled the advantage, controlling a pass from Brown for her 20th goal of the year.

The goals came fast a furious, with Brown getting her third goal in two games following a corner. Cardente sent the ball in, and Brothers settled it with a stick-stop for Brown to slam past Chappell in the 12th minute.

It was 4-0 in the 13th minute, with Brothers hammering in Cardente's corner for her first of the year.  Stauffer got her first of the season in the 24th minute, as Chappell let the ball slide behind her for Stauffer to tap in.

Stauffer completed the hat-trick in less than ten minutes in the second half.  First, she took a pass from Sami Smith to score her 12th of the year in the 43rd minute, and needed 41 seconds to replicate the feat, this time with a feed from Jensyn Dandeneau.

Bridgewater State broke up the shutout bid in the 52nd minute, with Cullinane netting her team-leading 11th of the year. The goal marked the 28th of Cullinane's career as she moved into sole possession of seventh place on the Bears' all-time goal scoring list.

Cook then scored her first collegiate goal with less than two minutes to go to complete the scoring.

Both teams return to the field on Tuesday evening. The Bears host Little East rival UMass Dartmouth at seven, while the Owls entertain non-conference foe Johnson & Wales University at 6:30.