HAMDEN, CT - The Union College women's hockey team fell to #7 Quinnipiac by a score of 4-1 Friday evening. Sophomore Riley Walsh found the back of the net for her team-leading eighth goal of the year in the second period, but a pair of Bobcats goals on either side of Walsh's netfinder would be too much for the Garnet Chargers to overcome.
 
The two teams would play a fairly even first 20 minutes, but Quinnipiac would be the only side to come away with a goal. After junior Sophie Matsoukas blocked a Bobcats deflection towards the end boards from in close, Emerson Jarvis picked up the loose puck and went around the net before finishing the wraparound goal.
 
Quinnipiac held a narrow 8-5 lead in shots on goal in the first period, and after outshooting Union 15-8 to begin the second period, would find the back of the net again. Quinnipiac would converge on a two-on-two breakout, and after Kate Reilly got around her Union defender to get the two-on-one advantage, would send a pass along the front of the crease to Kahlen Lamarche for her fifth goal of the season.
 
Union wouldn't take long to respond this time around, as Walsh would put the puck in the back of the net less than four minutes later. Union would go on a three-on-two rush after a Quinnipiac turnover in the neutral zone, and after first-year Maddie Leaney skated towards the left side to open up space for Walsh to go down the middle, found the sophomore at the top of the slot, who fired a changeup of a wrist shot that fooled Quinnipiac goalie Logan Angers to make it 2-1. The assist would be Leaney's fourth of the year, moving her into a tie with senior Emily King in points on the team with 11, four behind Walsh's pace setting 15.
 
The offense would slow down in the final 20 minutes, but Quinnipiac would take advantage of their six shots on goal in the final frame to pick up their two insurance tallies. Jess Schryver would get the two-goal lead back for the Bobcats exactly six minutes into the period before she would put the visitors away with her second goal of the period with just over a minute and a half left.
 
Quinnipiac would outshoot Union in the contest 25-17. Union would do a good job staying out of the penalty box in the game, allowing just two power plays to one of the nation's top power play offenses, and would stymie them both times.
 
Union will continue their weekend set on Saturday, as they travel the I-95 corridor to go visit #12 Princeton at 3 PM.