WORCESTER -- Abigail Rauch (Jackson, NJ) celebrated Senior Day by netting a pair of goals for the first time in her career to propel WPI field hockey to a 4-0 shutout of visiting Keene State in the final non-conference regular season contest for the Engineers late Wednesday afternoon on H. Carr Field.
 
The victory, the Crimson and Gray's third straight, evens WPI records to 8-8 on the season while the Owls slip to 12-7 overall.  
 
Eliza Dutson (Woodstock, CT) struck first for the hosts when she received a pass from Arie Lang (West Hartford, CT) across the circle to the back post and the junior connected on their fifth marker of the season with just 2:45 before halftime.
 
The Engineers kept the momentum going after intermission as Dutson rocketed a shot off the right post and Rauch collected the ball and pushed it in for her fourth tally of 2023 just 2:41 into the third quarter.  Just a few minutes later, Lang got into the scoring act when she dribbled up the field and knocked a straight shot into the back of the net for her eighth goal of the year at 35:27.
 
Rauch closed out the scoring early in the final quarter when she notched her second goal of the game by swatting the ball into the goal mid-air after an attempt by Lauren Simonian (Bedford, MA).
 
Ella Moreau (Huntington, MA) earned her fourth shutout in net for the Engineers, registering six stops on the night.  Clara Gorman (Stratham, NH) was credited with seven saves for the Owls, who were aided by a third quarter defensive save by Elizabeth Gonyea (Eagle River, Alaska).
 
The hosts enjoyed a 23-8 edge in shots and a 7-4 advantage in penalty corners. Grace Bazin (Westminster, VT), Meghan Daileanes (Londonderry, NH) and Irini Stefanakos (Fitchburg, MA) all logged multiple shots for the Owls.
 
Prior to the game, WPI recognized graduate student Nikki Espeland (Stafford, VA) and honored seniors Rauch, Emily Sollecito (Bedford, MA) and Samantha Robison (Wrentham, MA).  The trio are all planning on returning for a fifth year with Robison surprising teammates and head coach Kim Cosenza by having that fact included in her program senior day introduction.
 
WPI will close out the regular season on Saturday by venturing to Wellesley for a 1pm matchup with the Blue.  The Engineers (6-2 NEWMAC) are locked into the third seed in next week's NEWMAC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal contest on Tuesday at a time to be announced.  The opponent will be the sixth seed and will be determined based on results on Saturday with Salve Regina (4-4), Smith (4-4), Wellesley (4-4) and Springfield (3-5) all in the mix for seeds four through six. 
 
Keene State closes out the regular season by hosting Union in a non-conference tilt on Saturday at 2pm.  The Owls are locked into the two seed for next week's Little East Conference Tournament.    
 
Majority of recap written by WPI Sports Information student assistant Maya Vartabedian '24