NEVILLE TWP., Pa. — The Robert Morris Colonials defeated Syracuse 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Island Sports Center cementing the legacy for a class of seniors that amassed a 77-42-21 record, three consecutive College Hockey America regular season championship and a tournament championship over the past four years.
But it was the under-classwomen that had the spotlight in this game once the puck dropped. Paul Colontino had no reason to load his roster and gave additional ice time to the younger players. Leah Marino and Janey Sandoval each registered their first career goals – Marino thought it was so nice, she did it twice.
Caitlyn Sadowy opened up the scoring for the Colonials at 3:20 of the second stanza, skating out from behind the net and firing a shot that beat Orange starter Maddie Welch over her glove side, giving the Colonials a 1-0 lead. Colontino opted to continue to play his younger players in the contest and the experience paid dividends, as first-years Marino and Sandoval registered their first goals by the end of the period. Marino and Sandoval streaked down the ice, with the sophomore passing to the first-year, who fired it home at 10:18. Sandoval scored an almost identical goal, as Courtney Kollman fed the sophomore for her first-career goal. Marino fired a shot over Welch at 6:32 for her second of the game, Sandoval collected her third point of the game – and her career.
Lauren Bailey got the nod in her final contest at the Island, stopping 30-of-32 shots in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Colonials head to the HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y. to take part in the 2019 CHA Tournament. After securing the bye and the No. 1 seed on Friday, the team will face the lowest remaining seed at either 4:30 or 7:30 on Thursday, Mar. 7.
