Boxscore

NORTHFIELD, VT.  – Senior Jess Scioli (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) broke a 1-1 tie with 2:51 remaining in regulation to propel the second-seeded Manhattanville women's hockey team, 2-1, over fifth-seeded UMass Boston in the ECAC East Semifinals at Kreitzberg Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The newly formed line of Senior Holly Nonis (Brampton, Ontario/Saint Thomas Aquinas), sophomore Jessica Kehoe (Kemptville, Ontario/Nepean Wildcats (PWHL)) and Scioli all contributed on the marker, as Scioli raced into the left side of the Beacons zone and sent a shot from just outside the circle that tipped-off the glove of UMB netminder Leah Hallett.  Nonis and Kehoe both received assists as the forwards worked to get the puck out of the neutral zone and onto the stick of Scioli.

Manhattanville trailed 1-0 after the first period and battled hard in the final two periods to solve Hallett who made 20 saves until sophomore Sonia Occhionero (Montreal, Quebec/Kent School (Conn.)) broke the shutout with 12:58 left in the final period. The Valiants owned possession for the early parts of third period and didn't allowing the tired Beacons many line changes.

The 10th ranked Valiants tying goal began at the point as sophomore Charlotte Hotaling (Southfield, Mich./Victory Honda) released a hard slapshot that was deflected in front of the crease by Occhionero. After the Valiants tied the contest, the designated home team owned a 13-5 edge in shots to conclude the contest en route to the victory.  

The Beacons challenged the Valiants all game long after taking a 1-0 lead late in the first period after a turnover in the Valiants end cost them. UMB captain Rachel Sousa skated into the zone and found Katie Kirwan at the left side of the net for an easy wrist shot over the catching glove of Manhattanville netminder sophomore Emy Cote (Saint-Hubert, Quebec/Dawson College) with 1:09 remaining.

Both squads struggled on the man-advantage as the Valiants failed to convert on four opportunities, while the Beacons were unsuccessful twice. Hallett finished the game with 31 saves and Cote finished with 11 saves for her 11th victory of the season. Both goalies made tremendous saves late in the period with Cote making two saves in the final minute of play. The Beacons called a timeout with under a minute remaining in the contest and kept the puck in the Valiant zone but were unsuccessful. Manhattanville finished with a 33-12 edge in shots on goal, with 15 coming in the final period.

With the victory, Manhattanville (18-7-2, 13-4-1 ECAC East) will take on host and top-seeded Norwich University in the conference championship tomorrow at 3 p.m. from Kreitzberg Arena. Fans can listen live on WMVL 88.1 FM and GoValiants.com as Nick Guerriero and Tom Fenton will have the live call beginning at 2:40 p.m. UMass Boston finishes the season with a final record of 14-11-1.