CORTLAND, N.Y. – Junior Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) recorded a hat trick to lead the Utica women’s ice hockey team to a 5-2 win over Cortland Saturday afternoon in ECAC West action at Alumni Arena. The Red Dragons fell to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the conference, while the Pioneers improved to 4-2-1 and 3-2. The same two teams meet Sunday at 3 p.m. in Utica.
Juniors Katie Gili (Brooklyn/New Jersey Rockets) and Niamh O’Connor (Paramus, NJ/New Jersey Rockets) tallied goals for Cortland with juniors Kaitlyn Ryan (Windsor/Adrian College) and Maggie Corbett (Queensbury/Queensbury H.S.) collecting assists. Junior goalie Deanna Meunier (Parsippany, NJ/New Jersey Rockets) made 20 saves.
Sophomores Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) and Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) each added a goal for Utica. Senior Nicole Kieffer (Rome/Lysander Lightning) contributed three assists, while senior Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) chipped in with two assists. Sophomore goalie Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry/Hotchkiss School) turned aside 19 shots.
After a scorless first period, the Pioneers took a 2-0 lead with goals just 24 seconds apart early in the second period. Reed netted her first at 4:24, and Coope followed with a deflection goal at 4:48. Schnepp made it a 3-0 lead through 40 minutes with a short-handed breakaway goal at 18:34.
Utica upped the lead to 5-0 in the third period on a pair of power-play goals by Reed. She netted her second of the game on a deflection in front at 1:33 and one-timed a shot into the open left side of the goal at 7:27. Gili put Cortland on the scoreboard at 8:18, knocking in a loose puck from the right side while falling to the ice. O’Connor completed the scoring with an unassisted effort, beating Goin on a breakaway at 17:51 after forcing a turnover at Utica’s blue line.
