PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 4 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team fell in an NCAA Division III Quarterfinal matchup with No. 6 Middlebury on Saturday, losing 2-0 to the Panthers to conclude the 2023-24 season for the Cards. The loss marked the first time this season that Plattsburgh was unable to score a goal over an entire game.

Plattsburgh State is ranked No. 4 in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 rankings, while Middlebury is ranked No. 6.

Saturday marked the final game for Plattsburgh's graduating seniors Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks), Tatem Cheney (Ottawa, Ontario/Ottawa Lady 67s), Julia Masotta (Tewksbury, Mass./Norwich), Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks), and Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) who will depart the program after stellar careers from each player.

For Plattsburgh, Nease took the loss in net, making 17 saves in just over 57 minutes of play, while Boric had six shots on goal and Masotta had five. For Middlebury, Audrey Lazar netted the game-winner in the first period, while Kate Flynn had the insurance score in the second. Sophia Will posted her second straight shutout of the tournament in net, making 30 saves.
Neither team could take advantage of the power play, as Plattsburgh went 0-4 and Middlebury was 0-5, while the Cardinals outshot the Panthers 30-19.

Plattsburgh State concludes their season at 22-5-1, while Middlebury improves to 18-6-4 and will take on No. 14 Elmira in the national semifinals in River Falls, Wisconsin.

Throughout the game, the Cardinals had chance after chance, but just could not put a goal past Will in net. The team had two excellent opportunities to score in the first period, as they had two powerplay chances killed off by a strong Panther defense. Audrey Lazar got the first goal of the game in between the special teams' opportunities for Plattsburgh, taking a shot from the right face-off circle in a two-on-one breakaway that bounced off the top bar and into put Middlebury up 1-0. The Cards came up with a big penalty kill immediately after but couldn't use that momentum to get a score themselves as the first period ended in a 1-0 Panther lead.

The second period saw another early Plattsburgh power play opportunity that did not come to fruition and soon after Kate Flynn knocked in a score on the doorstep to put the Panthers up 2-0 at the 7:32 mark of the period. Middlebury got two more power play opportunities that the Cardinals were able to kill in the second stanza, but it kept Plattsburgh off the offensive as they trailed by two goals and desperately needed a score.

In the final period, the Cardinals put up 14 shots on goal, but could not beat Will in the net to get themselves a shot away from tying. The sophomore goaltender stood tall, including over two minutes of six-on-five hockey as the Panthers' defense kept the Cardinals off the board down the stretch to advance in the NCAA tournament.

For Middlebury, Sabrina Kim tallied two assists while Jordan Hower and Callia Ferraris also had helpers in the Panther win.