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HAMILTON – The Colgate Raiders are headed to the NCAA Women's Frozen Four.
No. 3 Colgate defeated No. 9 Northeastern in the NCAA Quarterfinal 3-1 at the Class of 1965 Arena to advance to the national semifinal for the first time in program history.
The Raiders take on No. 2 Wisconsin Friday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
It was an even match throughout the entire game, but two Colgate goals in the third period propelled them past the Huskies.
Olivia Zafuto netted the game-winner just over a minute and a half into the third period.
Bailey Larson added an insurance goal on an empty netter with 50 seconds remaining.
The first period started out fast-paced, but both goaltenders made big stops to keep the game scoreless.
Julia Vandyk finished the period with 11 saves, including multiple point-blank stops.
Breanne Wilson-Bennett opened the scoring with 10:53 remaining on the clock in the second stanza.
Jessie Eldridge had the puck behind the net and sent it out to Zafuto for a straight-away look. Once Zafuto corralled the puck, Wilson-Bennett planted herself to the right of the goal. The senior forward tapped the puck down from mid-air to set herself up with a point-blank opportunity.
The Huskies answered quickly with goal off the stick of Andrea Renner to even the game at one just 2:17 after Wilson-Bennett's tally. The score remained tied for the rest of the period.
Zafuto's goal came on 3-on-1 breakaway. The Niagara Falls, New York, native carried the puck through center-ice before passing it to
Shelby Perry to enter the zone. Perry played it back to the trailing Zafuto, who buried the shot top shelf.
The Raiders maintained the lead for the entirety of the period, forcing Northeastern to empty its net with 1:15 remaining. Just 25 seconds later, Larson launched the puck from the opposing blue line and it found its way to the back of the net.
Vandyk finished finished the day with 23 saves on 24 shots faced. The Cambridge, Ontario, product improved her season save percentage to .927 and her goals against average to 1.76.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 3, Northeastern 1
WIN-LOSS RECORD
The Raiders improved to 33-5-1 on the season, while the Huskies finished their season with an overall mark of 19-17-3.
KEY RAIDER INFO
-This marks the first Frozen Four berth for the Raiders in program history.
-Colgate's semifinal matchup with Wisconsin will be the first all-time meeting between the two schools.
-The Raiders finished with 20 wins at the Class of 1965 Arena, the most home wins of any NCAA Men's or Women's Hockey team.
FACTS AND FIGURES
-Wilson-Bennett netted her 16th goal of the season.
-She now has 96 career points, with 46 goals and 50 assists.
-Zafuto had her fifth multi-point game of the season, as she recorded her 11th goal and 19th assist.
-She now has 30 points on the season for the first team in her career to lead all Colgate defenders
-Eldridge collected her 22nd assist, pushing her career point total to 107. She is now tied for fifth place on the all-time points list with Becky Irvine.
-Perry registered her 24th assist, which leads the team and is tied for the second most in a single-season in program history
-Larson netted her 11th goal of the season. She has recorded at least a point in 12 of the Raiders last 14 games.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Greg Fargo
"As it went on, our team got better and better. We just kept trying to do the right things and we knew we would get some chances to score. We had some pretty good plays happen out there today, so it was a lot of fun."
(On advancing to the Frozen Four) "We're playing on the last weekend of the year and we're one of four teams still playing. We're pretty fortunate to be in that company, but this is a group that we felt could be playing on the last weekend. It doesn't always work out, and the last two years have been like that for us.
"This group more than ever came into the season with a real determined focus on what they wanted, and they went for it."
Junior defender Olivia Zafuto
(On today's atmosphere) "Coming in for warmups, there already were so many people here and it was awesome. We've had such great fans all year and the school has been buzzing about this game. It's nice hearing everyone in the community wishing us luck and really getting behind us. It was awesome."
(On advancing to the Frozen Four) "It's been our goal all year. It's what we have dreamed about and where everyone wants to be this time of year. It's crazy."
Senior forward Annika Zalewski
(On today's atmosphere) "It was just such a special experience for us. The crowd was amazing and it was great to get the win at home, and keep going.
(On advancing to the Frozen Four) "It's another step in the right direction for us, another goal completed. But we're not done yet. We're excited to keep going and spend this week preparing. It will be a lot of fun."
Full transcript here
UP NEXT
The Raiders will take on Wisconsin in the first all-time meeting between the two schools on Friday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be played at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The winner will play the victor of Clarkson-Ohio State for the national title.
