MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO – On Saturday afternoon, Lindenwood women's hockey fell 4-3 in overtime to the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers in their weekend series finale. After the contest, Lindenwood falls to 3-25-2 on the season, and the RIT Tigers would improve to 15-13-4. Before Saturday's contest, the Lions held their senior day festivities. Honored players included Sydney Rarick, Sena Takenaka, Morgan Neitzke, Kaitlin Finnegan, Gigi Pora, Josey Dunne, Chloe Corbin, Brooke Pioske, and Anna LaRose.  

The first ten minutes of play saw action at both ends, but no goals. RIT finally broke the deadlock at 16:04 and took a 1-0 lead with just under four minutes left in the first period. Three first period penalties by Lindenwood helped RIT amass 15 shots to the Lions five, and the Lions found themselves trailing 1-0 after one period of play.  

While on a 5-3 power play, the Tigers scored 11 seconds into the second period and extended their lead to 2-0. Lindenwood killed off another penalty but then surrendered an even-strength goal at 13:18 to make it 3-0 RIT. The Lions got on the board thanks to a power-play goal by Sena Takenaka at the 19:45 mark. Takenaka's backdoor goal was her first tally of the year and was set up by Morgan Neitzke and Ellie Muscedere. Anna LaRose made 11 saves in the second period, but the Lions trailed the Tigers 3-1 heading into the third.  

The third period saw the Lions cut the deficit to one at 10:36. Neitzke scored the goal, her team-leading 10th of the season, and was assisted by Olivia Grabianowski and Gigi Pora. By the 15:43 mark, the Lions had tied the game up at 3-3 when Pora beat the RIT goaltender's glove side. Neitzke and Grabianowski picked up assists on Pora's game-tying goal, and for Neitzke, her second helper of the game was her team-leading 11th assist of the season. Pora's late goal and LaRose's 10 saves sent Saturday's contest into overtime tied at 3-3.  

The Lions controlled puck possession for most of the overtime period, but ultimately fell to the Tigers 4-3. LaRose made 32 saves on 36 shots, bringing her save percentage up to .889 on the year. Lindenwood was outshot by RIT 36-27 and the Lions went 1-5 on power play on Saturday.  

Points – Morgan Neitzke (3) 

Goals – Sena Takenaka (1), Morgan Neitzke (1), Gigi Pora (1) 

Assists – Oliva Grabianowski (2), Morgan Neitzke (2) 

Shots on Goal – Gigi Pora (5) 

Plus/Minus – Gigi Pora (+2) 

The Lions' next game will be Friday, February 14th when they face off against AHA foe, the Robert Morris Colonials. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 PM CT in Moon Township, Pa.