ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team (3-16-1, 1-6-1 CHA) had its two game unbeaten streak snapped, falling 3-0 to visiting Syracuse University (5-7-4, 4-2-2 CHA) on Saturday afternoon at the Gene Polisseni Center.

Syracuse broke open a very close game with two goals 1:50 apart in the final three minutes. After Dakota Derrer scored early in the second period, Alysha Burriss scored with 2:52 left in regulation, while Stephanie Grossi added an empty netter with 1:02 remaining. Maddi Welch stopped all 20 shots she faced for the shutout win. Heather Schwarz and Allie Munroe had two assists each for the Orange.

Jenna de Jonge (Abbotsford, British Columbia/George Elliot) was strong in net for RIT, stopping 23 of 25 shots. Kendall Cornine (Kinnelon, NJ/Morristown Beard) led the offense with five shots on goal.

Syracuse out-shot RIT, 26-20. RIT was 0-for-5 with the man-advantage, while Syracuse was 0-for-2.

"I thought we played well over the first two periods, but came out flat in the third," said Bruce B. Bates Women's Hockey Coach Scott McDonald. "Overall, it was a disappointing end to the weekend after rallying for the tie last night."

Neither team scored in a tightly played opening period. Kandice Sheriff (Brampton, Ontario) had RIT's best chance of the frame, coming out from behind the net and rushing towards the cage, flicking a backhander that Welch stopped with the right pad to keep the game scoreless.

Syracuse would get on the board 2:48 into the second period, as Derrer would take a feed from Heather Schwarz at the right point after Schwarz was stopped on the rush and fire a shot through a screen that eluded de Jonge for her first goal of the season.

Both teams would have good chances as the period unfolded, but both de Jonge and Welch would keep everything out, as Syracuse held a 1-0 edge heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

Neither team generated much in the way offense in the third period until the Orange capitalized on a RIT turnover in the Syracuse zone. Schwarz and Burris worked the 2-on-1 break up the ice perfectly for the big insurance goal with 2:52 left. Grossi would add an empty-netter to complete the scoring.

Last night, RIT and Syracuse skated to a 2-2 tie at the Tennity Ice Pavillion. Cornine scored both RIT goals while de Jonge made 32 saves.

The Orange leads the all-time series between the two schools, 11-7-2. Thirteen of the 20 meetings have either ended in ties or a one-goal difference, with seven going to overtime. RIT defeated Syracuse in double overtime in the 2015 CHA Championship game.

RIT and Syracuse will meet two more times in the regular season, a home-and-home series on Feb. 17-18, 2017.

RIT is back in action next weekend, as they host Bemidji State University of the WCHA for their final two non-conference games of the 2016-17 season.