PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – Anna Lugge '27 provided a pair of goals in the second period as the Elmira College women's ice hockey program won its NEHC Quarterfinal contest against VTSU Castleton, 3-1 on Saturday at the Murray Athletic Center.  
 

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 3, VTSU Castleton 1
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Murray Athletic Center
TEAM RECORDS: No. 2 Elmira (18-7-1), No. 7 VTSU Castleton (11-14-1)


HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Castleton took a 1-0 lead in the contest at the 5:22 mark of the first period as Caris Erickson finished a breakaway for the Spartans.
• Elmira was unable to beat Castleton goaltender Victoria Bakopanos in the opening frame. She turned away each of the 18 shots she faced for the Spartans.
• The Soaring Eagles netted the equalizer just 2:41 into the second period as Anna Lugge '27 finished a feed from Erika Goleniak '25 to beat Bakopanos.
• Lugge added her second goal of the contest with just five seconds left on the clock after the Soaring Eagles could not convert on a late power-play opportunity. Lugge found the back of the net after a rebound from an initial shot taken by McKenzie Schmidt '25.
• Castleton pulled Bakopanos with 45 seconds left in the third period after earning an offensive zone faceoff as it looked to find the tying goal against the Soaring Eagles.
• Emily Lenzen '24 would thwart the comeback bid for the Spartans with an empty-net goal for the Soaring Eagles at 19:37. Schmidt and Sophie Gregory '26 were credited with the assists.
• Sara Sevcikova '28 improved to 11-2-0 on the season for the Soaring Eagles, finishing with 10 saves. Elmira recorded nine blocked shots in the contest as Gabby Dougherty '26 and MK Boyle '26 each finished with two for the Soaring Eagles.  

 
UP NEXT: The Soaring Eagles will host a semifinal matchup at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, March 1, at a time to be determined later. The Soaring Eagles are slated to host Salve Regina as they defeated Southern Maine 2-0 and are the No. 3 seed in the tournament.