NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A penalty stroke goal by Bentley's Courtney Bartlett with 5:48 remaining in regulation proved to be the difference as the Southern Connecticut State University field hockey team dropped a 2-1 decision to the No. 9 nationally ranked Falcons on Thursday night. Despite controlling the play for most of the night and holding wide advantages in shots (20-6) and penalty corners (17-3), the Owls came up just short.

It was Southern Connecticut's seventh match against a top-10 nationally ranked team this season.

The Owls are now 2-8, 1-6 in NE-10 play. Bentley improved to 6-3, 6-1.

Although SCSU was the aggressor early on, it was the visitors who finally struck first just past the midway point of the opening stanza. Nicole Murphy converted a feed from Haley Smith to give Bentley a 1-0 lead that carried over into halftime.

The Owls tied the game just over 12 minutes into the second half. Lauren Karn (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) pushed a pass down towards the goal line, where Whitney Martin (Harwinton, Conn.) was there to knock it in. It was Martin's fourth goal in as many games.

The hosts remained in pursuit of the go-ahead goal, but Bentley was awarded a penalty stroke off a flurry in front of the Owls' cage. Bartlett then lofted a shot into the upper corner of the net to give the Falcons the lead.

SCSU continued its relentless pressure down the stretch and had two penalty corners after time had expired. However, the second bid was ultimately cleared away, allowing the Falcons to escape with the victory.

The Owls are back in action on Saturday morning when they travel to St. Michael's for a Northeast-10 contest. The start time is 11 a.m.