ASTON, PA – A third period power-play goal from senior Maeve O’Brien (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Fury) was ultimately not enough for the Manhattanville College women’s hockey team in their United Collegiate Hockey Conference opener Friday night, as the Valiants dropped a hard-fought 3-1 decision to Neumann.
Manhattanville (1-1-0, 0-1-0 UCHC) outshot Neumann (3-1-1, 1-0-0 UCHC) 44-22, but goalie Helen Cooney stopped 43 shots, including 18 in the first period alone, to keep the game scoreless for more than 26 minutes. Bek Lucas finally broke through for the Knights on the power play 6:34 into the second period.
The Knights held the 1-0 lead more than a full period before O’Brien equalized at the 8:49 mark of the final period off assists from sophomores Ashley Lougheed (Vancouver, B.C./Pacific Steelers) and Amanda Sabia (Freehold, N.J./The Gunnery) just 11 seconds into the Manhattanville power play.
From there, the two teams traded 10 shots back and forth over the next six minutes before Katelyn Brown, who had assisted on Lucas’ earlier goal, put the Knights back in front at the 14:48 mark.
Manhattanville managed just three shots the rest of the way, while Sammy Patrick added an empty net insurance goal for Neumann in the final minute of regulation.
Senior Sarah Sinning (Southold, N.Y./National Sports Academy) and sophomore Zoey Pellowitz (Arlington, Va./Washington Pride) each had six shots to lead Manhattanville, while O’Brien and junior Nicole Mensi (Mamaroneck, N.Y./SUNY Plattsburgh) each added five.
The two teams will face off once more tomorrow in Aston, starting at 3 pm. The Valiants then end the year with a five-game home-stand, starting with a 7 p.m. affair next Friday night against Wesleyan at Playland Ice Casino.
