Field Hockey Edged by Keene State, 2-1

WESTFIELD, Mass. –  Keene State's Kelsey Roberts (Greenfield, Mass.) scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner with 10 minutes left in regulation, to lift Keene to a 2-1 win over Westfield State in the Little East Conference field hockey opener for both teams at Alumni Field on Saturday.

Keene improves to 4-1 overall and a 1-0 in the LEC, while Westfield is now 3-3 and 0-1 in the LEC.

KSC got on the board first, 9:44 into the game as Roberts redirected a shot from Ally McCall (Watertown, Mass.) off of a penalty corner for a 1-0 lead.

Westfield tied the game at 1-1 early in the second quarter, with sophomore Cheryl Latona (Granby, Conn) scoring after a rebound of Allie Giguere's (Bishop Fenwick/Lynn, Mass.) shot came off the pads of Keene goalie Rachel Loesby (Hartford, Vt.).

The teams battled through the third quarter with neither side able to gain an advantage, but the field tipped Keene's way in the fourth, as they out-shot the Owls 8-0 in the quarter and had a 4-0 edge in penalty corners, which ultimately ended with Roberts netting the game winner on a nice backhanded shot off of a short pass from McCall inside the top of the circle.

Keene finished with a 25-6 edge in total shots, as Wetsfield State sophomore goalie Riley Goulet (Marion, Mass./Old Rochester) made 13 saves.  Loesby finished with two saves for Keene.

Westfield State will be back in action on Monday, Sept. 16 with a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game at local rival Western New England.