COLMAR, Pa. – Katie Pounder and Alexa Spiers scored first period goals for the Lebanon Valley women's ice hockey team in a tough 4-2 defeat at Arcadia University in the team's first game of 2024.
 
The Dutchmen played great defense early on against the offensive-minded Knights as Arcadia outshot LVC 10-1 over the first five minutes of play. Mia Frisoni made five saves while Grace Mayer, Spiers, Julia Schafer, and Alexis Oukes blocked shots. Pounder gave the Dutchmen a 1-0 lead at 9:20 as she scored her third goal of the year off a rebound after Victoria Scurto had her shot saved. The Knights tried to even the score over the next few minutes putting four shots on goal. LVC had shots by Oukes, Madelynn DeBelis, and Norah McCauliffe blocked. Spiers gave the Dutchmen a 2-0 advantage at 13:27 as she intercepted a pass at the Arcadia blue line and scored at the other end on a breakaway. Scurto nearly increased the lead to three with five minutes to go in the period but her one-on-one with the goalie was stopped. The Knights managed to score with 1:25 left in the period off a rebound from a shot blocked by Cheyenne Wilk to cut the advantage to 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
 
In the second period Arcadia came out shooting as Frisoni made a save 12 seconds into the period. LVC responded with Surto and Wilk putting shots on goal. The Knights dominated possession over the next couple of minutes with Frisoni making six saves and Oukes blocking a shot. The Dutchmen responded in the eighth minute with three shots on goal and three consecutive faceoff wins. Wilk took the first shot and then Scurto had the next two. The teams battled up and down the ice trading shots with Schafer, Spiers, Wilk, and Maeghan Howson taking shots at the goal for LVC. The Knights tied the game up at two with 2:33 remaining in the period.
 
The game remained tied going into the third period where Arcadia held the pace of play early on. The Dutchmen countered with a shot by Schafer saved and then Wilk and Spiers had shots blocked. Arcadia scored at 9:10 on a breakaway attempt to take their first lead of the game. LVC had a strong response as Pounder and Ava Waugaman put shots on goal that were saved and Scurto had a shot blocked. Arcadia scored an insurance goal with just under six minutes to go on a rebound. The Dutchmen pressed to get on the board but were held to blocked shots off the sticks of Oukes and Howson the rest of the way.
 
Inside the Box

• Spiers scored her team-leading fifth goal of the year while taking two shots. The sophomore also recorded her 15th career point.
• Pounder scored her third goal of the year and won 10 out of 16 faceoff attempts.
• Scurto recorded her first assist of the year and 12th of her career. The senior led the Dutchmen with five shots.
• Oukes blocked a team-high four shots.
• Tiffany Anderson won 10 of 16 faceoffs.
• Frisoni made 41 saves with 12 in the first period, 16 in the second, and 13 in the third period.
• There were no penalties called in the game. It is the fifth time in program history the Dutchmen have stayed out of the penalty box for an entire game and the first time since November 3, 2017.

 
Up Next
The teams will square off again tomorrow afternoon back at Hatfield Ice Arena in Colmar for game two of the weekend series. First puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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