BOSTON — In the final minutes, American University put a shot on-goal for the first time in the second half.

Boston University goalie Kathleen Keegan was ready.

With her right foot, Keegan kicked the 3-inch field hockey ball away from the goal.

“I was probably about 2 inches away from not saving it. That was, definitely, a scary moment,” Keegan said. “I set early and focused on the ball and made the save.”

Her save with 3:37 remaining preserved Boston’s 2-1 win in the Patriot League women’s field hockey tournament championship Nov. 4. It earned the Terriers a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The Boston University women’s field hockey team celebrates winning the Patriot League tournament Nov. 4.

“You don’t even know who to run to first because it was a full team effort,” Keegan said. “Everybody was just so excited. We just jumped around everywhere.”

Miami (Ohio) beat Boston 2-0 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 7.

Keegan, who is gay, feels proud to end her college career by helping Boston win both the Patriot League regular season and tournament championships.

“I had an impact and made a difference,” said Keegan, who started in goal all 20 games this season. “Holding it up (the Patriot League trophy) with teammates as seniors, we were so excited to get it.”

Kathleen Keegan stands in goal for Boston University. She started in goal all 20 games this season for the Terriers.

The 5-foot-6, 135-pound Keegan underwent hernia surgery in January but was ready when the season started. She recorded 44 saves by stopping 59.5% of the shots on goal.

Keegan said she came out as gay to close friends and family as a high school senior. She came out to her Boston teammates during October her freshman year.

It wasn’t 100% acceptance, but she has seen progress in her four years on the team.

“I definitely experienced some homophobia, some slurs,” Keegan said. “Some of my teammates have made mistakes about doing things that were inappropriate or hurtful, but I’ve seen tremendous growth from all of them.”

Boston University field hockey goalie Kathleen Keegan dives to make a save against Boston College.

Keegan, who is majoring in business administration and management, has not only been open to her team but also within BU’s Questrom School of Business. As a sophomore, she started Questrom Spectrum, a student group for LGBT undergrad business students.

“I try to be really proud about my sexual orientation,” Keegan said. “Coming out and being proud about it is really important for other people to see.”

Keegan has accepted a consulting job with PWC in Boston that she’ll start after she graduates in May.

She heads into the working world with memories and relationships that she treasures from throughout her career.

“I made some of my best friends for life on this team,” Keegan said. “I was really fortunate to wear the jersey for Boston. … It’s been a really great experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

Kathleen Keegan can be found on Instagram @Keegie77.

Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBTQ. Results are for competitions that took place Oct. 29-Nov. 11.

Division I

Schuyler Bailar (senior, Harvard men’s swimming) swam exhibition races in the season-opening meet Friday against Cornell and Dartmouth. He competed in the 100-yard breaststroke (1 minute, 2.36 seconds) and 100 butterfly (53.17 seconds).

Jacob Cornish (junior, Texas men’s diving) finished fourth on 1-meter springboard (308.85 points) during his first meet of the season Nov. 2 vs. Texas A&M.

Abrahm DeVine (senior, Stanford men’s swimming) finished second on the 200-yard freestyle relay and took fourth in both the 200 individual medley (1:49.95) and 400 individual medley (4:03.35) against Cal on Nov. 8. It was his first collegiate meet of the season.

Taylor Emery (senior, Virginia Tech women’s basketball) had 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 78-49 win against Georgia Southern on Nov. 10. In the season-opening 96-45 win against USC Upstate on Nov. 6, she had 18 points and seven rebounds. Emery was named to the Preseason All-ACC team.

Northwestern swimmer Jack Thorne and Florida State diver Aidan Faminoff stand together at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge held Saturday and Sunday in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Aidan Faminoff (junior, Florida State men’s diving) finished second on 1-meter (315.82) and 3-meter springboard (348.75) during a home meet against Florida on Nov. 2. He finished ninth on the platform (317.95) at Sunday’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Scott Frantz (redshirt junior, Kansas State football) started at left tackle in both games as the Wildcats (4-6 overall) went 1-1 the last two weeks. Saturday’s Texas Tech at Kansas State game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPNU at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Nathaniel Hernandez (junior, Duke men’s diving) won the 1-meter springboard (382.7 points) and finished second on 3-meter (346.6) during a three-team meet at Eastern Carolina on Nov. 3. Nunzio Esposto (diving coach, Duke men’s and women’s teams) saw the women’s divers sweeps the diving events Nov. 3. Hernandez took fourth on platform (362.2) and ninth on 3-meter springboard (346.75) at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Saturday and Sunday. His success earned him ACC Men’s Diver of the Week on Monday.

Abbie Hetherington (redshirt senior, Oklahoma State women’s cross country) saw the Cowgirls finish second at Friday’s NCAA Midwest Regional and advance to Saturday’s NCAA Championships. She did not compete at the regional but is scheduled to compete at the championships.

Blaine Johnson (junior, American men’s swimming) competed in four events during a four-team meet at Bucknell on Nov. 3, and his best finish was 12th in both the 100-yard (1:06.78) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:29.2).

Johnny Kemps (senior, Boston men’s cross country) finished 175th of 241 runners during Friday’s 10-kilometer Northeast Regional in Buffalo, New York. He completed the course in 36:39.1.

Kennedy Lohman (junior, Texas women’s swimming) competed in three events Nov. 2 at Texas A&M, and she finished eighth in both the 100-yard (1:04.6) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:20.83). She competed in two events Saturday at Cal, and she finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.03). Friday’s meet at Stanford was canceled due to poor air quality caused by the California wildfires.

Charlie Minns (junior, Princeton men’s diving) won the 1-meter springboard (328.7 points) and finished third in 3-meter (318.35) during the season-opening meet Nov. 2 at Florida Atlantic. Minns won the 1-meter (308.25) and took fourth on platform (261.55) and fifth on 3-meter (283.35) during the Big Al Invite at Princeton on Friday and Saturday.

Ryan Russi (redshirt senior, Wyoming men’s diving) earned Western Athletic Conference Diver of the Week on Oct. 30 for winning both diving events against Denver on Oct. 27.

Jack Thorne (senior, Northwestern men’s swimming) competed on two relays at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Saturday and Sunday. Northwestern finished seventh in both the 200-yard medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.

Robbie White (redshirt junior, Northwestern men’s soccer) received a Big Ten sportsmanship award on Nov. 2. He saw Northwestern (6-9-5 overall) end the season with a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 1-seeded Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 4.

James Finley (head coach, Seattle women’s volleyball) saw the Redhawks (9-18 overall) go 0-4 the last two weeks.

Chip Rogers (assistant coach, Miami (Ohio) women’s field hockey) saw the RedHawks win the Mid-American conference tournament Nov. 3 with a 5-3 win against Kent State. Miami (16-7 overall) advanced to the NCAA tournament, where it beat Boston 2-0 then lost at Duke 1-0.

Stephanie White (head coach, Vanderbilt women’s basketball) and Kelly Komara (assistant coach, Vanderbilt women’s basketball) led the Commodores to a 0-2 start to the season.

Division II

Cheradyn Pettit (senior, Mercy women’s field hockey) made four saves in the second half of the East Coast Conference Tournament championship, which No. 2-seeded Mercy won 1-0 at No. 1 Molloy on Nov. 2. The Mavericks end the season 6-12 overall. Pettit made 68 saves in 15 games.

Noah Ratliff (senior, Mercyhurst men’s water polo) provided a goal and an assist in a 13-7 win against Connecticut College on Nov. 3. Mercyhurst (13-11 overall) ended the season with a 13-3 loss to Gannon on Nov. 4.

Jake Van Ittersum (junior, Northwood football) started at left guard the final two games of the season, which included Saturday’s 26-23 win against Michigan Tech. The Timberwolves finish 3-7 overall.

Tony Nicolosi (head coach, Cal State East Bay men’s and women’s cross country) led the women’s team to fifth and the men’s team to sixth at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship on Nov. 3.

DJ Slifer (assistant coach, Texas A&M-Kingsville women’s basketball) saw the Javelinas open the season by going 1-1 with a 61-37 win against Chadron State on Saturday.

Division III

Lindsey Farrell (senior, McDaniel women’s soccer) ended the season Nov. 3 with a 5-2 loss to Swarthmore in the Centennial Conference semifinals. Farrell scored four goals and had four assists this season while starting all 16 games for McDaniel (10-5-1).

Matthew Garza (junior, Johns Hopkins men’s swimming) competed in four events at the Murphy Invite on Nov. 2-3 in Baltimore, and his best finish was eighth in the 200-yard butterfly (1:56.93).

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NJAC Champs? cute

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Ian Johnson (junior, Montclair State men’s soccer) started on defense in both games of the NJAC tournament, which Montclair State won. The No. 7-ranked Red Hawks beat Ramapo 5-0 in the championship game Nov. 2. Johnson started on defense in both games in the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III tournament, and Montclair State advanced by winning a pair of games in penalty kicks. Montclair advanced to Saturday’s sectional round against Ramapo.

Harrison Knowlton (senior, Middlebury men’s cross country) and Tucker Meijer (senior, Amherst men’s cross country) competed at the 8-kilometer NCAA Division III Regional in Brunswick, Maine. Meijer took 15th in 25:31.67 to help Amherst capture the regional title and an automatic berth to Saturday’s NCAA Championships. Knowlton helped Middlebury finish third and advance to the NCAA Championships with an at-large berth, and Knowlton finished 36th in 26:02.78.

Wyatt Pertuset (junior, Capital football) caught one pass for 19 yards in a 38-17 win against Wilmington on Nov. 3. He made two catches for 16 yards in Saturday’s season-ending 33-28 win against Muskingum. Pertuset finished the season with 21 catches for 337 yards, the third-highest receiving total on Capital (3-7 overall).

NAIA

Eva Bower (sophomore, Milligan women’s soccer) earned all-Appalachian Athletic Conference first-team honors at goalie Nov. 5. She recorded eight saves as Milligan knocked off top-seeded Truett-McConnell 2-0 in the AAC semifinal on Nov. 6. Milligan’s season ended with Saturday’s 5-1 loss in the AAC championship against Tennessee Wesleyan. Bower finished the season with 78 saves, stopping 75.7 percent of the shots on goal.

NJCAA

Lexie Gerson (head coach, Harcum women’s basketball) led the Bears to a 4-0 start to the season.

Cliff Hastings (head coach, Parkland women’s volleyball) and Ron Hoppe-Hastings (assistant coach, Parkland women’s volleyball) won the Region 24 tournament by beating Lincoln Trail 25-11, 25-9, 25-9 in the District J Championship on Nov. 3. Following the match, Hastings was named the Region 24 Coach of the Year. Parkland (53-2 overall) qualified for the NJCAA Division II Nationals, which are Nov. 15-17 in Charleston, West Virginia. “We’ve played these 55 matches to prepare for these final six matches,” Hastings said in a press release. “The girls have done all the right things to be efficient and successful at the two district matches. Now, we march forward at nationals for four more.”

Erik Hall can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @HallErik or Facebook. If you are an out LGBTQ athlete or coach and want your accomplishments recognized, please email Erik.

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