UTICA, N.Y. – The Neumann University women's ice hockey team saw its season come to an end on Sunday afternoon as the team dropped a 4-1 result on the road at Utica College in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) first round.

Bek Lucas capped off her stellar career in a Neumann uniform by scoring the team's lone goal of the contest. Julia Fair was also excellent in goal in her final game as a Knight, making 25 saves in the loss.

In a matchup that saw both teams pick up wins over each other in the regular season, Sunday's contest figured to be a close game. The first period was very evenly played as each team created chances to score. The Knights generated the game's first power-play 3:26 into play, but could not take advantage as the game remained 0-0. The game's next man-advantage came late in the period to the Pioneers and they capitalized on the opportunity, scoring at 17:32 to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Using momentum from the late first-period goal, Utica continued to carry play into the second stanza. The Pioneers scored just 1:14 into the period to take a 2-0 lead, then tacked on a late period goal to send the hosts to the second intermission up by a score of 3-0. Shots through two periods were 20-11 in favor of the Pioneers.

As she has all season long, Lucas did her best to carry Neumann back into the game. The senior forward scored her 27^th goal of the season off a feed from Katelyn Brown just over six minutes into the final frame to bring the Knights back within two at 3-1. Neumann continued to create chances throughout the period, but a staunch Utica defense kept the Knights off the board. The visitors pulled their goalie late in an attempt to get the game tied, but an empty-net goal from the Pioneers sealed the 4-1 win.

With the loss, Neumann (12-11-2) sees its season come to an end in the UCHC first round. Despite the loss, it was a banner year for the Knights, as the team made the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. With all but three players returning to next year's team, Neumann will look to bounce back next season and go even further in the conference
playoffs.