Box Score RYE, N.Y. - Senior forward Michele Meggiolaro (Whippany, N.J./New Jersey Colonials (MAWHA)) tallied two goals on the day but it wasn't enough to keep the Manhattanville women's hockey team from suffering its first defeat on home ice and in ECAC East Conference play this season, falling to the USCHO.com and D3hockey.com #3 Norwich University by a final score of 5-3 on Saturday afternoon at Playland Ice Casino.

In a highly-anticipated matchup between the Valiants and the defending ECAC East champions, Manhattanville looked to play the role of spoiler, despite their undefeated record in conference play. It wasn't long before the Valiants made their presence felt on the ice.

After trading opportunities throughout the first ten minutes, senior forward Aubrey Bachand (Harwichport, Mass./Vermont Academy) picked up her team-leading, fourth goal of the season approximately halfway through the first period as she buried home the rebound on a shot from sophomore Jerin Dinkins (Grants Pass, Ore./National Sports Academy).

The Valiants held the lead for only a couple minutes, however, as Rachel Bellio intercepted a breakout pass, turned and threw the puck towards goal where it was kicked out by freshman goaltender Ekaterina Nikonova (Lybertcy, Russia/King's Edgehill School). Unfortunately for Nikonova, Maki Shuchuk was crashing the backpost and was able to push the rebound past the keeper, tying the game at one.

The second period saw more back-and-forth play from the two teams. The Valiants again took a one-goal lead as Michele Meggiolaro (Whippany, N.J./New Jersey Colonials (MAWHA)), receiving a pass from fellow senior Alla Traun (Edina, Minn./Minnesota Thoroughbreds (JWHL)), deked past Celeste Roberts and tucked the puck between the goalie's five-hole just 2:41 into the second period.

Once again, Norwich was quick to respond, as the neutral-zone forecheck caused the Valiants to turn the puck over at their own blueline where it was picked up by the Cadets Adelle Murphy who gained the zone and placed a nice drop pass for forward Vanessa Champagne who would even the game as she sniped high-glove side on Nikonova with 13:32 remaining in the second period.

Less than four minutes later the Cadets would take their first lead of the day as Sarah Schwenzfeier would pick up her second goal of the season, throwing the puck on goal where it found its way underneath the arm of Nikonova and trickled just over the goal line for a 3-2 Norwich lead.

Entering the third period, the Valiants quickly found themselves down two goals as Liza Gemmiti gathered the puck at the blueline, threw one on goal which seemed to handcuff Nikonva as it bounced off of her glove and into the back of the net.

Despite trailing 4-2, the Valiants improved upon their pressure and opportunities which culminated in Meggiolaro's second goal of the game. With just over ten minutes remaining in the third period, Traun connected with Meggiolaro for the second time of the day to cut the deficit to one goal.

While the Valiants continued to pressure, Roberts continued to play solid in net, turning aside multiple comeback attempts from Manhattanville. Then, with just over two minutes remaining in the third period, Shuchuk buried her second goal of the game, giving Norwich a 5-3 lead and handing Manhattanville its first loss on home ice since this season.

While there are is no such thing as a "good" loss, the Valiants have demonstrated their ability to skate and compete with the best teams in the country. In a relatively quick turnaround, the Valiants head to Aston, Pa. to take on the Neumann Knights this Tuesday before heading home for the Thanksgiving holiday.