GORHAM, Maine –  Juniors Mary Keef (Westbrook, Maine) and Hannah Banks (Belfast, Maine) and sophomore Izzy Hurlburt (Alfred, Maine/Massabesic) each scored a goal to lead the top seed University of Southern Maine Huskies to a thrilling 3-2 win over the fourth seed Keene State College Owls in a semifinal game of the 2022 Little East Conference Field Hockey Championship Thursday night at Hannaford Field.
 
With the win, Southern Maine advances to the championship game of the LEC tournament and will host third seed Castleton University on Saturday (2:00 pm).  Castleton defeated Worcester State 3-0 in an earlier semifinal contest. 
 
Facing each other for the 45^th time in series history Southern Maine avenges a 4-2 loss to the Owls in the regular season with tonight's win.  KSC leads the all-time series 32-13.  USM is 3-2 in the last five meetings. 
 
The Records:
No. 4 Keene State (11-10)
No. 1 Southern Maine (15-7)
 
How It Happened:

• Keef scored an unassisted goal in the 10^th minute to put the Huskies on the board first, collecting a loose ball in the circle and beating the KSC goalkeeper to the near side.
• Keene State's Demetria Gonzalez (Merrimack, N.H.) scored her fifth goal of the season in the 17^th minute to give the Owls an equalizer early in the second quarter.
• Minutes later, the Huskies regained their lead as Banks flipped in her sixth goal of the season off of a feed from Hurlburt to give USM a 2-1 edge in the 20^th minute.  The score remained 2-1 into the half. 
• KSC dominated possession in the third quarter, rifling off six shots, and earning seven penalty corners but were unable to find another equalizer as Husky senior goalkeeper Julianna Kiklis (York, Maine) made three of her seven saves in the period.
•  KSC continued to press in the fourth quarter, outshooting the Huskies 7-3, and leading 7-2 in penalty corners, but the Huskies took advantage of their offensive chances taking a 31 lead in the 52^nd minute.
• Hurlburt scored her second goal of the season on an excellent pass from junior Brooke Carson (Bryant Pond, Maine/Oxford Hills) to give the Huskies a two-goal cushion in the fourth.
• KSC continued to fight and made it a one-goal game in the 58^th minute on an outstanding effort from senior Ellie Hunkins (Greenland, N.H./Portsmouth). Hunkins carried the ball down the left side of the field and beat the Huskies defense before slotting home her sixth goal of the season .
• Up 3-2 with minutes to go, Southern Maine stood strong facing another pair of penalty corners. Kiklis made her final save of the game with less than 30 second in regulation to preserve the win.

 
The Goalkeepers:
KSC, Moly Edmark (3-1), 60:00, 3 GA, 8 saves
SM, Julianna Kiklis (8-4), 60:00, 2 GA, 7 saves
 
 
Inside The Statistics:

• The last time Southern Maine defeated the Owls in LEC tournament action it was for the 2003 conference title.  Saturday's game will mark the Huskies first trip to the finals since the 2016 season. 
• Keef's goal is the first of the 2022 season for the midfielder. She has one goal and five assists.  In her career she has three goals and 10 assists.

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine, the 2022 LEC Regular Season Champion, will host Castleton University in the 2022 Little East Conference Championship on Saturday (2:00 pm).