NEW LONDON, CONN. – The Manhattanville College women's hockey team suffered a close 3-2 defeat on Friday evening against No. 15 Connecticut College for their final non-conference matchup of the 2022-23 season. With the loss, the Valiants fall to 10-10-1 overall with only four more regular season conference games left. 

The contest was Connecticut College's The Hidden Opponent game, an organization devoted to raising awareness for student-athlete mental health. Prior to the game, members of the Valiant and Camel rosters filled out signs naming who they play for, as the teams took to the ice for something bigger than just hockey on Friday night.
 
Action would start off slow for the Camels and Valiants as scoring wouldn't begin until 15 minutes into the first period. Connecticut's Morgan Bronstein would find the back of the net off a dish from Kylie McCarthy to put the Camels up early. With only 12 seconds left in the period, Gabrielle Cox (Niverville, NY/Ichabod Crane High School) would light the lamp unassisted for her 21^st goal of the season to tie it up 1-1 going into the second. 
 
The second period would look much like the first as it was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. Similarly, off an assist from Kelly Matthews, Bronstein would get her second goal of the night in the 14^th minute to give Connecticut College the scoring advantage. A minute later, Melanie Conca would get one of her own to put the Camels up, 3-1 with no response from the Valiants to end the period. 
 
In the third and final period, during a man advantage, Morgan Miller (St. Augustine, Fla./Gilmour Academy) would fire it past Connecticut's Abby Wieczorek for a Manhattanville goal in response to the Camels' lead. Charlotte Stanwood (West Vancouver, B.C./Penticton Secondary) would earn the assist as they bring the score to 3-2 with more than 10 minutes left in regulation. The Valiants would only get two more shots off through the final minutes which would not be enough to tie it up and send it to overtime. The Camels would hold advantage in shots taken, 37-12, and get themselves another win. 
 
Franny Gerardi (Yonkers, N.Y./Selects Academy) totaled 34 saves on the night, 21 of those coming through the third period while allowing three Connecticut goals during the 60 minutes. 
 
Connecticut College dominated the faceoff circle, winning 23 draws to the Manhattanville's 14. Miller led the team with nine draws, while Catrina Chinetti (Hyde Park, Mass./Boston Latin Academy) added five. 
 
Manhattanville went 1-for-3 on power play opportunities, firing four shots altogether. On the other side of the ice, they went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against the Camels. 
 
The Valiants will head to Maryland next weekend to take on Stevenson University with a Friday night 7 p.m. puck drop at the Reisterstown Sportsplex.