Smith Hat Trick Leads Keene State Over Southern Maine 4-1

Huskies' senior Allison Ward

GORHAM, Maine – Junior Sami Smith (Merrimack, N.H.) scored three goals in the opening 13 minutes to lead the Keene State College Owls to a 4-1 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference field hockey game Wednesday evening at Hannaford Field.

With its fifth consecutive win, Keene State remains undefeated in the Little East Conference at 6-0 and improves its overall record to 8-2.  Southern Maine falls to 5-8 overall and 2-4 in the LEC.

Smith was on the receiving end of three consecutive assists from classmate Kayla Reanud (Somers, Conn.) as the Owls set the tone. Jumping on top of the Huskies early, Smith notched the first of her three goals of the game with just 1:56 expired in the half.  Smith scored her second goal of the game in the 11th minute following a penalty corner.  Camped out in front of the goal, Smith was able to deflect a pass from Reanud for a 2-0 KSC advantage.  Three minutes later, the Owls led USM 3-0 as Smith and Renaud again connected for a goal – Smith's third of the game and team-leading 12th of the season. Despite the three-goal flurry in the opening 15 minutes of action, the score remained 3-0 through the half.  KSC led USM 7-2 in shots in the first half and had a 5-3 advantage in penalty corners. 

Southern Maine opened the scoring in the second half, trimming its deficit to 3-1 in the 40th minute.  Husky senior Allison Ward (Rockland, Maine/Oceanside) scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season, knocking in a solid shot with a reverse stick play.  The Huskies' pressed for a second goal, but were unable to break through.  KSC's Renaud, who assisted in all three of the Owls' first half goals, sealed the win for her team in the 66th minute with an unassisted score on a hustle play for the 4-1 final.

KSC senior Meaghan Dwyer (Rutland, Mass.) earned the win making one save on two shots on goal in 66:32 of action.  Sophomore Casi Smith (Merrimack, N.H.) helped Dwyer's cause making a defensive save in the first half.  Sophomore Kendra Lonergan (Sanbornton, N.H./Winnisquam Regional) played the final 3:28 of the game and did not face a shot.  Southern Maine junior Amanda Kasbohm (York, Maine) made six saves in the loss.

Southern Maine travels to Western Connecticut State on Sunday (11:00 a.m.) in a Little East Conference match up for its next contest.  Keene State travels to Bridgewater State on Saturday (4:00 p.m.).