KEENE, N.H.  11/02/06 – Karen Robinson’s (Barre, MA) penalty stroke goal with 1:50 to play in the first overtime lifted top seed Keene State College to a 1-0 victory over fourth seed Worcester State in a semifinal game of the Little East Conference field hockey tournament played Thursday night in Keene. 

            Winners of nine straight, Keene State moves onto the finals where they will host second seed UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday (12 p.m.).  UMD edged Southern Maine (2-0, 2-OT) in its semifinal game.

            Robinson, who has seven goals on the season, was awarded the penalty stroke after a Worcester State defender fell on the ball.

            “I was totally surprised when they told me I was taking the shot,” said Robinson, a freshman.  “Amanda (Rosenbeck) came up to me and said you’re going to take and you’re going to make it.”

            “I usually shoot to the top left,” Robinson added.  “Fortunately in deflected off the goalie and rolled into the corner of the net.”

             “It was another tough win against a very skilled team,” said KSC coach Amy Watson.  “This was the one I was nervous about.”

            The Owls had many chances to put the game away, especially in overtime when Nichole Garneau (Twin Mountain, NH) had a wide open net and missed to the left.

            Sara Joyce (Hampstead, NH), who had another strong game in goal, turned away six shots for her ninth shutout.   Erin MacDonald stopped 10 shots for the Lancers (13-7).

            The defending champion Owls will be making their sixth trip to the LEC finals. They captured the championship in 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2005.