The Keene State field hockey team won their fourth consecutive Little East Conference (LEC) Championship and their 12th championship overall.

On Saturday, Nov. 5, the field hockey team played against the sixth seed Southern Maine University Huskies in the Little East Conference Championship game.

The first half was all Keene State on offense with the Owls retaining offensive possession throughout the entire half. But even with the intense offensive push, it was the Huskies defense that prevented the offense from producing goals.

It wasn’t until midway through the first half when Julia Babbitt was able to find an opening in the Huskies defense and sneak one past Huskies goalie Amanda Kasbohm to take the lead for the Owls.

Colton McCraken/ Equinox Staff

The Owls kept up their offensive dominance in the second half.

Sami Smith scored early off of a redirected pass from Kayla Renaud, giving the insurance goal to lead the Owls 2-0.

The onslaught didn’t stop there. Soon after Smith’s goal, Erica Stauffer netted one, bringing the Owls to a 3-0 lead over the Huskies.

Casi Smith was later awarded a penalty stroke and found the back of the net, increasing Keene’s lead to four.

To round off the night, Smith scored again in the 58th minute to mark her 35th goal of the season and second one of the night.

The Owls went on to win 5-0 and the LEC Championship for the fourth straight season.

This win also gives Keene State an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

“Four in a row, that’s good,” said Owls’ Head Coach Amy Watson. “It doesn’t happen very often; it’s a pretty good accomplishment.”

For many players, this championship win means their first, second or even third collegiate championship. But for the seniors, it means their fourth straight championship, giving them a championship win each year they’ve played on the team.

“It feels awesome,” said senior forward Smith. “It was obviously one of our goals of the seniors for a long time. It feels good to finally have it done and move on.”

Senior forward Brittney Cardente said it feels “absolutely amazing. It’s probably one of the best feelings in the world… It’s probably one of the best wins out of all four years because we’re seniors. We’ve been waiting for this since [our first] year. We’ve worked so hard [and] the entire team has worked so hard the entire season, so it’s just an unbelievable win.”

On top of winning her fourth straight championship, Cardente was also named the Most Outstanding Player for the tournament.

“I definitely did not expect it,” said Cardente. “It’s an unbelievable honor and I’m so grateful for it.”

Cardente credits her efforts this season to her teammates, saying that they’ve kept her on track this season and they “pushed me so hard all season and I thank them for that.”

“She’s a hard worker,” said coach Watson. “Brittney will give you everything she’s got and more everyday, day in and day out. The work she does often goes unnoticed.”

With this win, the team now works toward advancing through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament.  Coach Watson said that even though they are headed to a bigger tournament, it won’t change how the team plays.

“At this point in the season, we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” said Coach Watson. “We’re not going to reinvent the wheel, we’re just gonna go out there and just play, stay loose and just keep everybody together.”

The team members, although excited for the tournament, have different reactions for preparing and playing in the tournament.

“I’m a little nervous,” said first-year forward Jensyn Dandeneau. “The play level is definitely going to be a lot harder, but we can probably make it far into that tournament if we keep playing the way we’re playing.”

“We’ve been having some really good practices lately where we’re focused, we’re intense,” said Smith. “We have really good chemistry on and off the field as well. Keeping that up should be good.”

Casi Smith credits this year’s team for the accomplishments that were achieved and how, “we hope that the team next year can keep it going again, get a five-peat.”

“There’s nothing better that this team right now,” said Casi. “With everything going on, we just want to keep it going.”

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Sami. “It speaks for itself, I think. The hard work we’ve put in for it, we got four [championships] in a row.”

Justin Mahan can be contacted atjmahan@kscequinox.com

The Keene State College field hockey team advances to the Little East Conference (LEC) Championship for the fourth consecutive year.

On Nov. 2, Keene State field hockey took on Plymouth State University in a semifinal matchup at the Owl Athletic Complex.

The first half was a back and forth penalty corner battle between the two teams. Keene State racked on a total of six penalty corners in that half, while Plymouth State recorded five.

Plymouth State capitalized on every opportunity in the first half with Lily Davis scoring off of a penalty corner early to take the lead.

Colton McCraken/ Equinox Staff

It wasn’t long after that goal until the Owls were given a penalty corner and Kendal Brown was able to find the back of the net to even the score.

The Panthers didn’t give the Owls a chance to celebrate the tie, as they took the lead off another penalty corner to lead the game 2-1 going into the half.

Keene showed to be a much different team in the second half than they were in the first half. At the start of the second, the Owls’ offense put Plymouth’s defense to work, racking on five shots.

Shortly after the start of the second half, Sami Smith scored to record her 33rd goal of the year.

Right after Smith’s goal, Brittney Cardente scored to bring the Owls to lead Plymouth 3-2.

Even after a quick timeout taken by Plymouth, they were unable to stop the onslaught from the Owl’s offense. Just a few minutes after the conclusion of the time out, Kendal Brown tallied her second goal of the night to lead the Owls to a 4-2 victory over Plymouth State.

For some, this win means a return to the LEC Championship game. For first-year students, this is their first. One player, though her first time in a collegiate championship game, has been in this situation before.

“I’m a bit used to it,” said forward Jensyn-Marie Dandeneau. “I’ve won three state championships in high school, but it’s a little different, nerve racking I would definitely say. I was not playing my top game tonight, but my team came through.”

For one returning player, even with championship game experience, she said she is nervous for this game.

“Really scary, I will tell you that,” said goalie Gwendolyn Thayer. “I’m really nervous about everything, but I know we’ll be able to make it through…”

Head Coach Amy Watson admitted that Plymouth gave the Owls a run for their money in that game, but even though they brought their A game, it didn’t catch them off guard.

“We try not to overthink it too much,” said Watson when asked about mentally preparing for the championship game. “We spend a lot of time at practice going through reps, going through what we do over and over again, and I think we just have to remind them that this is just an opportunity to execute what we’ve been practicing all year long.”

Justin Mahan can be contacted at jmahan@kscequinox.com

Keene State College students rallied together to spread awareness of sexual assault on women.

On Thursday Oct. 27, students, faculty and staff gathered in the Lantern Room of the Student Center for an event titled Take Back the Night. The premise of the event is- to spread awareness of sexual assault and to take back those spaces around Keene that have been known for these instances.

“Take Back the Night is a branch of violence prevention,” said KSC Senior Sophia Olsen. “It’s taking back those places and spaces that are given horrible connotations because of people who took advantage of the darkness.”

Take Back the Night is not a relatively new event to campus.

Colton Mccracken / Equinox staff

“It feels new because the last few years we had nothing done,” said Women’s and gender studies professor Patricia Pedroza Gonzalez. “I’m so glad we wanted to do it this year.”

The event began in the Lantern Room where an event introduction and slam poetry kicked things off.  After the poetry students, faculty and staff gathered to march through those non-safe spaces around Keene, taking it back as their own.

“You need to think like 20 to 25 years ago where it wasn’t well-seen for women to be seen alone outside at night, specifically in bars,” said Pedroza Gonzalez. “The reason why I say to look back 25 years ago [is] because I believe the violence in the street now involves everyone. Now everybody can be assaulted. Now everybody can be shot.”

Olsen said they aren’t dismissing the fact that men do get sexually assaulted, “but women get attacked more.”

According to Olsen, who is also part of Mentors in Violence Prevention, one in four women on college campuses will be sexually assaulted, and by the age of 18, that ratio is one in six.

“90 percent of perpetrators are male,” said Olsen. “That’s not saying that 90 percent of males are perpetrators. Violence prevention is not just a women’s issue, it’s an everyone issue.”

Colton Mccracken / Equinox staff

One student, wishing to remain unnamed, said that this event meant a lot to them, but they were not happy with the turnout.

“I don’t think the message got across. I wish that more males showed up to take part. I was sexually assaulted off-campus, and I believe there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of what they are doing”

“Take back the night is still hitting that specific connotation that women should not be afraid to go out at night,” said Pedroza Gonzalez. “And to not think that it was my fault to be assaulted, it was not my fault to be raped.”

Pedroza Gonzalez mentioned a few tactics for students to keep themselves safe at night, some include to walk with a friend and to not take drinks from anyone you don’t know.

“I hope students are helping each other,” said Pedroza Gonzalez. “Taking care for each other and staying together, all that is still helping.”

Justin Mahan can be contacted at jmahan@kscequinox.com