PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Evvy Finch scored the first two goals of her career for the Lebanon Valley College women's ice hockey team in its season opener, as the program dropped a 5-2 contest to Chatham University on Friday, Oct. 30, at Shady Side Academy.
Addison Taylert and
Anna Dale each recorded an assist for LVC as well.
The Dutchmen (0-1-0) were aggressive offensively early in the first period, outshooting the Cougars (1-0-0) 5-1 during the first 4:46. Chatham then began a power play during the sixth minute, and Lebanon Valley responded with five saves by goaltender
Mia Frisoni and blocks by
Norah McCauliffe,
Camryn Crouch, and
Isabel Hernandez during a successful penalty kill. The Cougars followed this by logging a 6-4 advantage in shots in the 5:38 after the conclusion of the power play, and Frisoni tallied six more stops for LVC.
Chatham opened the scoring 13:02 into the first period, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Klara Miuller. The Flying Dutchmen worked to generate more offensive opportunities as the first frame progressed, as
Addi Alaoui put a shot on goal that was saved at the 13:27 mark before Finch had attempts saved at the 14:52, 14:56, and 15:22 marks. Lebanon Valley then started a power play in the 16th minute and took advantage of the extra skater by tying the game at 1-1 at the 16:57 mark. The program evened the score on a power-play goal by Finch, courtesy of an assist by Taylert. LVC proceeded to outshoot the opposition 6-1 in the remaining minutes before the intermission.
The programs went back and forth at the start of the second period, as each team put a pair of shots on target that were saved during the first 7:33. The Cougars then scored at the 8:11 mark, taking a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal by Miuller. The Dutchmen countered with some offensive opportunities, as
McKayla Romano took three shots that were saved within three seconds in the 11th minute, and
Abby Mak had a try saved at the 11:05 mark. Chatham found the net again at the 11:56 mark, going up 3-1 on a goal by Miuller.
Lebanon Valley began a power play in the 14th minute of the second period, which led to a shot each by Mak and Taylert and two shots by Finch when the program had a 5-on-4 advantage in skaters. Another penalty by the Cougars provided LVC with a 5-on-3 advantage in skaters, leading to shots by Romano and
Hailey Benson, as well as a pair of attempts by Alaoui that were saved. The Flying Dutchmen then briefly had another one-skater advantage, in which
Lula Rego, Finch and Mak each put a shot on target that was saved. Chatham added two more tallies before the end of the period, advancing the score to 5-1 after a power-play goal by Avelyn Higgins at the 17:51 mark and a goal by Miuller with 13 seconds left, when each squad had four skaters on the ice.
The Dutchmen kept sending the puck toward the net when the third period got underway, outshooting the Cougars 10-1 during the first 7:17. During this stretch,
Sophia Scatena took a shot while the team finished a power play at the start of the frame, and
Leela Nemani registered three attempts. Chatham followed this with shots at the 8:23, 9:40, and 9:45 marks, and goaltender
Savannah Alexander made saves for LVC on each attempt. Lebanon Valley scored again 11:07 into the frame, narrowing its deficit to 5-2. Finch sent another shot into the back of the net for a goal, following an assist by Dale.
The Cougars took more shots as the third period went on, and Alexander posted saves for the Flying Dutchmen at the 13:07, 13:12, 17:28, and 17:41 marks. Lebanon Valley proceeded to battle until the final minute, outshooting the opposition 5-1 during the rest of the game. During this stretch, Dale put two shots on target that were saved while Alaoui, Rego, and Taylert each had an attempt saved. Ultimately, the score was maintained through the end of play.
Inside the Box Score
- Finch scored the first two goals of her career, including her first career power-play goal. The first-year also recorded a game-high eight shots.
- Taylert dished out the 21st assist of her career on Finch's first goal.
- Dale assisted the second goal by Finch, marking the 34th of her career. The senior is just one assist shy of tying for second on the program's career assists list.
- Frisoni made 22 saves.
- Alexander registered nine saves.
- Lebanon Valley outshot Chatham 58-36.
- LVC tallied 33 faceoff victories.
- Romano led the team with nine faceoff wins.
- Defensively, the Flying Dutchmen blocked 13 shots.
- Crouch tied a game-high four blocks, setting a career-high.
Up Next
Lebanon Valley will return to action on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m., when the program will open its Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) schedule against Stevenson University for the first of two matchups next weekend at the Reisterstown SportsPlex in Reisterstown, Maryland.
Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on
Instagram,
X, and
Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.
