Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—UMass Boston women's hockey (10-9-4, 6-7-1 ECAC East) scored three unanswered goals and just barely held on in the waning second to upset Holy Cross (15-7-1, 9-4-1 ECAC East) on Senior Day in front of a crowd of 217 at the Clark Athletic Ice Arena.
Prior to the contest, UMass Boston honored their four seniors Courtney White (Medford, Mass.), Kelly Sharlow (Potsdam, N.Y.) and captain Katie Loiselle (Glocester, R.I.) and Sarahanne Cavolo (Roxbury, N.H.).
After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, Alyssa Sullivan (Medford, Mass.) and Samantha Fallon (Pembroke, Mass.) each scored to give UMass Boston a 2-1 advantage heading into the second intermission and Emily Russell (Marblehead, Mass.) tacked on a goal early in the third to make it 3-1.
The Crusaders cut the deficit to 3-2 with 46 seconds to play, but UMass Boston netminder Moe Bradley (Swampscott, Mass.) made two stops in the waning seconds to help the Beacons earn their 10th victory of the season. Bradley finished the contest with 35 saves on 37 shots, including 26 saves over the final two stanzas.
Nicole Giannino and Mary Klimasewiski each finished with a goal for the Crusaders, while Izzy Bagi and Rachel Miller added assists. Alexandra Stevenson and Krista Manzares split time in net for the Crusaders, with the two combining for 28 saves on 31 shots. Stevenson who played the final 26:52 of the contest took the loss, after allowing two goals on 15 shots.
Giannino gave Holy Cross an early 1-0 lead when she fired a rebound to the far side just past a sprawling Bradley. Miller made the initial pass to Bagi who had her shot from the point knocked down by a defenseman, only for it to land in front of Giannino, who put it home for a 1-0 lead at the 9:07 mark of the period.
UMass Boston answered at the 6:53 mark of period two, when Sullivan fired home a shot of a Tori Pizzuto (Waterbury, Conn.) rebound. Pizzuto skated down the near boards and her shot ricocheted out to a charging Sullivan, who lifted a shot over Manzares' right leg for a 1-1 tie.
The Beacons' aggressiveness in attacking the net led to their second tally as well, as Fallon scored while diving into the crease to give UMass Boston a 2-1 advantage. The play started with Alexandra Karlis (Denver, Colo.) flipping a shot into the crease past Stevenson-who ended up out of position; with the puck sliding through the crease and looking like it was going to go wide of the post, Fallon jumped over a player in front and tipped the puck home while falling to the ice.
Russell padded the Beacons' lead and scored what would become the game-winner at 2:42 of the third period. After a clean face-off win by White, Russell flipped a wrister through traffic that Stevenson never saw until it was too late.
Holy Cross managed to make it a one-goal game with under a minute to play behind a tremendous individual effort from Klimasewiski. The junior beat a Beacons' defenseman just outside the blue line and chased down the puck before sneaking the puck through Bradley's five-hole to make it 3-2 at the 19:14 mark.
The Crusaders pulled the goalie in favor of an extra-attacker, but Bradley came up with a pair of saves and defenseman Angela Dandreo (Swampscott, Mass.) added a blocked shot, to help UMass Boston hold on.
UMass Boston will travel to Plymouth State University Friday night at 6:00 p.m. for the first game of a season-ending two-game road trip.
