Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College field hockey team fell in their final home game of the season with a 2-1 defeat to visiting Keene State College on Thursday afternoon.  Smith falls to 7-10 overall, while Keene State ups their mark to 12-7. 

Before the game, Smith honored their two seniors - co-captain Sophie Demuynck (Mt. Holly, N.J./Moorestown Friends) as well as Dari Goulden (Rutledge, Pa./Strath Haven).  The team also wore pink to raise breast cancer awareness and took donations for the Susan B. Komen foundation.

The Owls got on the board just five minutes into the game.  Alex Abbate received a penalty corner from Kalin Billert, and rifled in a shot from the top of the left circle to beat Smith goalie Nora Demick (Watertown, Mass/Beaver Country Day).   Keene State made it 2-0 in the 18th minute with a similar type of goal.  Kalin Billert took a corner that found twin sister Alex Billert, who scored from the top of the circle with a long distance effort. 

Smith responded with immediate pressure, as Casey Rau (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) tested Owls' starter Caitlin Davino-Draper, who turned aside the followup efforts from Dari Goulden (Rutledge, Pa./Strath Haven) and Alexa DeJesus (Somerset, Mass./Somerset).  Lyndsie Rabenius was then stoned by Demick just before the end of the first half to keep the score 2-0 at the break.

Aimee Donaruma was denied an early second half goal for Keene State, with Goulden clearing her shot off the line, and Smith hit back in the 46th minute with a well worked counter attacking goal.  DeJesus slipped a pass to Caroline Noonan (Guilford, Conn./Guilford), who sprang Allie Stein (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) up the right side.  Stein dribbled in and hammered a shot to the far post and past new KSC 'keeper Meaghan Dwyer to cut the deficit in half.

A trio of saves from Demick with 10 minutes remaining kept Smith in the game, as out of a timeout, Alex Billert, Kalin Billert, and Marisa Lemoine were all denied by the first year keeper, and Smith earned a pair of corners at the other end of the field.  Emma Camilleri (Florence, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) had a golden chance to tie the game with five minutes to play, only to be turned back by a defensive save from Melissa Habelow.

Demick finished with 18 saves for Smith, 12 coming in the second half.  Davino-Draper played the first half for Keene State, making four saves, while Dwyer played the second half and made one save.

Smith will be back in action in the potential final game of the season on Saturday.  The Pioneers travel to MIT for a 1 p.m. game, needing a win and a Mount Holyoke loss to Babson to claim the last berth in the NEWMAC tournament.  Keene State will wrap up the regular season with a home game on Saturday against Framingham State at 1:30 p.m.