PROVIDENCE, R.I. — For the third time in a span of five days, the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team was held under two goals.
 
Unlike their first two contests of 2022, however, this time around, one goal was more than enough.
 
Katie Pierpont (Holt, Mich.) scored the game's only goal — her first goal in an SMU uniform — two minutes into the third period, and Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) made that one-goal lead stand up, as the Cardinals dropped Johnson & Wales 1-0 in the team's first-ever meeting Wednesday evening at New England Sports Village.
 
The Cardinals — who dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 3 UW-Eau Claire and lost 5-0 to UW-Stevens Point last weekend — dominated from start-to-finish against the Wildcats, but had nothing to show for their efforts through the first two periods.
 
Despite outshooting J&W 19-7 over the game's first 40 minutes, Saint Mary's headed into the third period deadlocked with the host Wildcats 0-0.
 
Enter Pierpont, who netted career goal No. 1 2:21 into the third period to give Saint Mary's the 1-0 lead — and Ziakas did the rest, stopping all 12 Johnson & Wales shots in recording her first shutout of the season.
 
The Cardinals (7-5 overall) close out their east coast swing on Thursday, when they travel to Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center in Worcester, Mass., for a 5:10 p.m. (EST) showdown against Worcester.