CASTLETON, Vt. – A third period rally for UMass Boston Women's Ice Hockey would come up just short as the Beacons fell to Castleton University, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon in their regular season finale on the road. UMass Boston will look towards the New England Hockey Conference Quarterfinals next Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 1, Castleton University 2

UMass Boston (10-13-2, 8-8-2 NEHC)
Castleton University (14-10-1, 11-7-0 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior forward Emily Harris got Castleton on the scoreboard first at the 12:08 mark of the first period when senior defender Katherine Campoli and freshman forward Meg Aiken teamed up to find Harris on the right side of freshman goalie Leah Bosch. Harris' shot squirted through the legs of Bosch, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead which they would maintain heading into the second frame.

Castleton would extend their lead to two goals in the opening 1:01 of the second period when a turnover in the defensive zone found the stick of senior forward Samantha Lawler who located sophomore defender Emery Bonner at the point. Bonner would find senior forward Darby Palisi on the right side of the circle with open space and Palisi would convert on the second goal of the afternoon for the Spartans.

In the final 20 minutes, UMass Boston would look to mount a comeback from two goals down against Castleton. Less than five minutes into the third, junior forward Katie Wilbert cut the Beacon deficit in half when senior forward Hannah MacDougall hit freshman defender Mia Boyd on the left side of the circle. Boyd's pass when off the end boards and onto the stick of Wilbert who squeezed the puck inside the right post pasted junior goalie Kirsten DiCicco, giving the Beacons new life in the game with the power play goal.

The comeback would fall just short as the offense would be unable to convert on the game-tying goal in a third which saw the Beacons narrowly trail the Spartans, 11-9, in shots on goal for the period. The UMass Boston defense and Bosch would stand strong and hold Castleton off the scoreboard in the final frame of the 2-1 defeat on the road.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Leah Bosch stopped 32 of a possible 34 shots she faced against Castleton University
• Kirsten DiCicco prevented 23 of 24 shots that UMass Boston fired on her in goal
• The UMass Boston power play went 1-for-4 on the day while the penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3
• UMass Boston has now dropped four consecutive games against Castleton 

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston with enter the New England Hockey Conference Tournament as the sixth seed and will square off against the University of Southern Maine next Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM. In two regular season matchups this year, the Beacons fell 4-0 at home and 2-1 on the road against the Huskies.