ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's hockey team fell to No. 2 Elmira College in the New England Hockey Conference quarterfinal round, 3-1 on Saturday. 

Castleton opened the scoring with first-year Caris Erickson intercepting the puck from Elmira and skating down for a breakaway opportunity, where she slotted her shot right between the goalie's legs to give the Spartans the first lead of the game.

Victoria Bakopanos who was selected to the NEHC's All-Conference Third Team this past week, came out strong between the pipes in the first period by shutting out the Soaring Eagles, stopping all 18 shots she faced. 

Elmira's All-NEHC Second Team's Anna Lugge came up big for the Soaring Eagles in the second period. She scored three minutes into the period to tie the game up at one and with just five seconds left, she scored a second time to give the Soaring Eagles a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.

Castleton dominated on the dot, winning 44-of-68 faceoffs with Moa Carlsson and Mikayla Brightman leading the way with a combined 21 wins for the Spartans.

The Soaring Eagles had many opportunities to increase their lead but Bakopanos continued to shine and kept Spartans in the game with her 39 saves.

Castleton fought to find a tying goal, with an extra skater entering the play with 45 seconds left in the contest. Elmira took advantage of the Spartans' last-chance opportunity by scoring an empty-net goal to secure the victory at 3-1 and advance to next week's NEHC semifinal contest.

VTSU Castleton ended its season with an 11-14-1 (7-11-1) record in its final season in the NEHC. The Spartans will join the Little East Conference (LEC) with six other programs for the inaugural season in 2025-26.