(Chelsea, MI) – The women's hockey team held their home opener on Saturday evening, hosting Davenport University. The Cardinals entered 2-0 on the year after earning the first wins in program history last weekend. CUAA struck first in the second period and cruised to a 4-1 victory. The win also marks the Cardinals first in over a ACHA D1 opponent in the program's young history.
Lizzy Knappenberger started in goal for Concordia, making 21 saves. The Cardinals earned a power-play opportunity just over a minute into the game with Reagan Tolley firing the first shot on goal. CUAA killed off a penalty midway through the period and received a power-play chance late, but the game remained tied 0-0 after the 1st.
The Cardinals continued to attack the net as Adriana Ruggiero had a promising shot that was stopped by Davenport. Concordia finally broke the game open with 7:51 remaining in the period when Sydney Schuyler jammed in a goal with assists from Reese Hetherington and Emily Greer. CUAA held a 1-0 lead after the 2nd.
Concordia extended their lead to 2-0 when Aaliyah James rifled a shot off a rebound on a Kim Mills shot. Davenport broke the shutout just over a minute later, but the Cardinals went up 3-1 when Adrianna Ruggiero fired a wrist shot with Breanna Sheridan notching the assist. With 3:46 remaining Kassidy Scheben jammed in a rebound off her own one-timer to extend the lead. CUAA held on to secure a 4-1 victory as time expired.
Concordia moves to 3-0 on the year. The Cardinals will have a quick turnaround as they will travel to Grand Rapids for a rematch with Davenport. The Cardinals and Panthers will play at the Patterson Ice Arena with the puck drop scheduled for 9:30am.
