RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls women's hockey team defeated Augsburg University 4-2 Friday evening at Hunt Hunt in the NCAA Division III Tournament Semifinals, advancing to the national championship game a second consecutive season.
The Falcons, now 25-3-2 overall on a 10-game winning streak, trailed 2-1 early in the second period before scoring three unanswered goals to seal the win. UWRF is set to face Amherst College on Sunday, March 30 in the national title game at Hunt Arena with a 3 p.m. puck drop.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first 40 minutes with both teams exchanging goals in the first two periods. It took UWRF under four minutes to open the scoring with
Alexa Niccum granting the Falcons a 1-0 lead at 3:41. Augsburg's Livia Brehm tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period, and Aunna Schulte put the Auggies ahead 2-1 early in the second. However, UW-River Falls responded with
Madison Lavergne's equalizer at the 17:26 mark of the second period as she deflected a shot from the point from
Kennedi Bielenberg-Howarth past Auggie netminder Kayla Simonson.
The Falcons took control in the third period, with
Megan Goodreau scoring top shelf off the rush at 11:15 to give UWRF the lead back. Shortly after,
Cahlilah Lindquist gave the Falcons the two-goal cushion to make it 4-2, a lead in which the Falcons held on to for the rest of regulation.
Both teams were unsuccessful on the power play, with UWRF going 0-for-2 and Augsburg going 0-for-4. The Falcons finished with a 29-24 edge in shots on goal.
Jordan O'Kane picked up her 18th win of the season in goal, making 22 saves.
