Box Score
KEENE, N.H. –The Keene State Owls got goals from three different players and withstood an second half flurry of shots by the visiting Fighting Scots, to post a 3-0 shutout victory over Gordon College in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
Keene State (21-3), which set a program record for wins (previously set in 2011) and closes out its home schedule undefeated (14-0) at Owl Athletic Complex, advances to the second-round where they will face seventh ranked Skidmore College at Middlebury College on Saturday (2 p.m.). Skidmore (17-3), which received a first-round bye, defeated William Smith 4-3 to capture the Liberty League Championship. The Thoroughbreds, who are riding an eight game winning streak, have earned seven straight and 13 overall tournament bids.
Failing to get by the first round in their first six trips to the NCAA Division III tournament, the Owls, who have won nine straight, have now moved on to the second-round twice in the last three-years. In 20111, KSC won a first-round game against Endicott (2-0) before falling to Bowdoin (4-0).
The Owls did manage a couple of early scoring opportunities, but Gordon College senior goalie Anna Bury (Huntingtown, Md.) was up to the challenge, knocking away a shot by freshman Sami Smith (Merrimack, N.H.) and a breakaway bid by junior Marisa Lemoine (Berlin, N.H.) early in the first half.
Gordon played well despite playing on a much faster surface than the one they are used to at home. The Owls looked comfortable on the short turf and completed their perfect season at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Keene State got on the board in the closing minutes of the first half. Taking a crossing ball from sophomore Hayley Dolan (West Brookfield, Mass.), Lemoine flipped the ball over a prone Bury to give the Owls a 1-0 lead.
Unable to clear the ball early in the second half, the Owls held off the Scots. KSC sophomore goalie Meaghan Dwyer (Rutland, Mass.) stopped a rising shot from junior Courtney Scott (Herndon, Pa.), the nation's leading goal scorer, and a minute later turned aside a drive by junior Karli Balmer (Pekasie, Pa.) on a corner.
The Fighting Scots continued on the offensive. With Dwyer pulled out of the net, Habelow came to the rescue, making a defensive save on a shot by junior Brittany Hawkins (Hampstead, N.H.) just before the ball crossed the goal line.
The Owls offense finally got into gear. Dolan scored on a rebound to make it 2-0at the 58:09 mark.
Senior Aimee Donaruma (Hampden, Mass.) concluded the scoring with her sixth goal of the season, redirecting a shot by sophomore Lyndsie Rabenius (North Hampton, Mass.) past Bury.
The Owls outshot the Scots 17-6 and had a 6-3 advantage in corners.
Dwyer finished the game with two saves to post her second shutout. Bury stopped eight shots for Gordon, the Commonwealth Coast Conference champs, who was shutout for just the third time this season.
Release courtesy of Keene Sports Information
"I am so proud of what this team has accomplished this year. I could not ask for a better group of women to work with every day," said Coach Cory Ward following the defeat. "Everything they did was for the team as a whole and for the Lord."
The Scots end one of their most successful seasons in recent memory with a 17-6 record and a CCC Championship banner to hang in the Bennett Center rafters.
