RYE, N.Y. – A big second period by the Crusaders was the difference Saturday as the Manhattanville College women's hockey team fell to the College of the Holy Cross in 7-0 in New England Hockey Conferene action inside Playland Ice Casino.
 
The loss was the Valiants first in league play since they fell to UMass-Boston back on January 14. A win by the Beacons Saturday put them within three points of the Valiants for the number two seed in the NEHC postseason, meaning the Valiants will need a win against Salve Regina or the Beacons in the final two games to clinch the second seed for the playoffs.
 
Julie Mathias and Maeve Reilly found the back of the net twice for the Crusaders in the contest. Manhattanville was led offensively by junior Maeve O'Brien (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) with three shots, and two shots each for senior Lindsay Diot (Bethel, Conn./Boston Shamrocks) and junior Karly Kapur (Sparta, N.J./N.J. Colonials). Sophomore netminder Rose Pijaca (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) stopped 26 shots through two periods and freshman goalkeeper Taylor Elias (Winnipeg, Canada/Canadian International Hockey Academy) made 11 saves in relief on the afternoon. Tessie Salatas stopped 17 shots for her third shutout of the season.
 
Despite being outshot 18-8 in the opening frame, Manhattanville created a few offensive opportunities, but Salatas shut the door down every time on the home squad. The Crusaders jumped on the board first when Julie Mathias beat Pijaca top shelf for the game's first goal 92 seconds in. Moments later, O'Brien had an opportunity herself, going coast to coast and after her initial shot was stopped, Salatas made a great diving save with the stick to keep the Valiants scoreless and help Holy Cross take a 1-0 lead into the locker room at the first intermission.
 
It was all Crusaders in the middle period as the visitors found the back of the net four times in the frame to take a commanding 5-0 lead after two periods. Once again the Valiants had an excellent opportunity down 2-0, when sophomore Nicole Mensi (Mamaroneck, N.Y./SUNY Plattsburgh) found Kapur on a two-on-one chance, but again Salatas made a great kick save, coming across the crease to shut the door on the junior to keep Manhattanville scoreless.
 
The Crusaders tacked on two more goals in the final frame to come away with the 7-0 win.
 
The Valiants remain three points up on UMass-Boston with two games to play. The Valiants return to action Friday when they host Salve Regina for Senior Night where the Valiants will honor the four senior members of this year's team. Faceoff for that contest is scheduled for 7:00 pm.