ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University women's ice hockey team dropped a heart-breaker to third-ranked Elmira College 2-1 in Friday night ECAC West action.

Goalie Julia Fair was fantastic in goal, stopping 39 saves in the loss. Jordyn Cholish tallied the Knights lone goal of the game off assists from Bek Lucas and Grace Klienbach.

The first period would be controlled by Elmira, who outshot the Knights by a count 13-4. Fair made several key early stops, but late in the period the Soaring Eagles would strike first. A loose puck was banged home on a rebound to give Elmira a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Elmira would continue to carry play into the second period but the Knights were sound defensively, limiting the quality of the Soaring Eagles shots and denying rebound opportunities. Neumann was rewarded for its gritty play seven minutes into the period as Cholish scored to tie the game off a nice rush by Lucas and Klienbach. Klienbach's initial shot was stopped by the Elmira goalie but Cholish was there to clean up the rebound and bring the teams level. Despite trailing in shots 26-8, the game would head to the
third period tied 1-1.

Neumann continued to battle throughout the third period, keeping the score even until the game's final seven minutes. Elmira kept applying pressure in the Knights end and finally broke the tie with just six minutes and forty seconds left to play. Fair made an initial save but could not stop the rebound, giving the Soaring Eagles a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. The Knights would pull their goalie in an attempt to level the score but could not get the game tied.

Neumann (1-2, 0-1 ECAC West) is right back in action tomorrow, as it hosts Elmira again looking to gain a split in the two game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:00 PM.