MIDDLETOWN, R.I. -  Junior forward Taylor Shepherd scored two goals and picked up two assists, leading the Salve Regina Seahawks to a 6-5 win over the Manhattanville College women's hockey team on Friday.  Senior forward Alla Traun (Edina, Minn./Minnesota Thoroughbreds (JWHL)) scored two goals while Michele Meggiolaro (Whippany, N.J./New Jersey Colonials (MAWHA)) added a goal and two assists for the Valiants.

In a matchup between two of the conference's best Division III teams, the Valiants took a 1-0 lead at the 6:43 mark of the first period when senior Aubrey Bachand (Harwichport, Mass./Vermont Academy) netted her eighth goal of the season. Sarah Markey picked up her first of two goals on the day when she scored a power play goal against Manhattanville at the 13:28 mark of the first period.
 
With only nine seconds remaining in the first period, Traun scored her first goal of the game on the power play, while Bachand got her second point on the day with an assist.
 
Sophomore defenseman Amanda Cronin scored her fourth goal of the season at the 4:47 mark of the second period, tying the game at two. The Valiants would then net back-to-back goals from their seniors. Traun picked up her second of the day at the 11:46 mark before Meggiolaro added her first of the game with only 2:32 remaining in the second period.

Trailing by two goals with less than two minutes remaining in the second period, the Seahawks would go on to score two goals just 41 seconds apart, tying the game at 4-4 heading into intermission.
 
Senior captain Rachael Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn./Sound Shore Warriors (MAWHL)) gave the Valiants a 5-4 lead just over three minutes into the third period, scoring an unassisted goal at the 3:16 mark.  Just under three minutes later Taylor Shepherd picked up her first goal, and third point, of the game.
 
Both teams created their fair-share of opportunities in an attempt to take the lead. However, with just over five minutes remaining Shepherd snuck a shot past freshman goaltender Ekaterina Nikonova (Lybertcy, Russia/King's Edgehill School), and the Seahwaks held on to their 6-5 lead for a key conference win.
 
The loss drops Manhattanville to 6-4-3 in ECAC East conference play, three points behind Salve Regina for second place and one point ahead of fourth-place UMass Boston in the conference among Division III teams. The Valiants now have a week off before travelling to New England College next Friday afternoon.