(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS took game one of the Atlantic University Sport semi-final series Friday night, a tightly contested 2-1 victory over the cross-campus rival St. Thomas Tommies.

UNB was led by goalie Kendra Woodland (Kamloops, BC), who made 23 saves on 24 shots. She was named the Subway Player of the Game.

"She's a rockstar, that's why we put her in that situation, that's why we brought her here," said REDSs head coach Sarah Hilworth. "She's been our backbone all year. I think that she lives for these big moments and it's nice to see the work she's put in pay off for her."

Ashley Stratton (Mount Pearl, NL) opened the scoring for the REDS, tipping in a pass from Lauren Carter (Milton, ON) at 16:36 of the first period to give UNB the 1-0 lead.

The Tommies started to put on the pressure in the second period, forcing Woodland to make several big saves to hold UNB's lead. 

"With every team in our league [the action] is going to go back and forth, but staying in the moment is key," said Woodland. "We just need to be ready and prepared for anything that is coming at us."

STU's Mariah Carey (Avonport, NS) had a great scoring chance, coming in on a breakaway, but her shot hit the post.

"She had a great look," said Tommies head coach Peter Murphy. "We had lots of chances and we were really pleased with our performance in the second period and the energy that we had."

The Tommies were finally able to beat Woodland on a powerplay blast from the point by Erin Arsenault (Oakville, ON) at 17:17 of the 2nd period to tie the game 1-1. 

"We've been practicing our powerplay a lot and trying to get shots down. I got one down and it was able to get past the goalie" said Arsenault.

After killing off a powerplay to start the third, REDS forward Payton Hargreaves broke the deadlock scoring on a beautiful backhand 1:56 in to give UNB the lead 2-1.

"It was a little bit of a breakdown in their end and I just saw an open lane, so I took it," said Hargreaves. "I knew that I had [Lauren] Carter with me so I just drove the net, pulled a move off, and tried to get the puck towards the net with my backhand and it just squeaked in."

The Tommies didn't quit though and continued to apply pressure up until the final moments.

"They are a really good team," said Hilworth. "We expect that push back. Most games all year have been close. We know that they were going to give us a hard push. It is tough to go back and forth like that, but that is how it's going to go and we expected that from them. "

The teams won't have to wait too long to see each other again. Game two of the best of three games series goes Saturday, at 7:00pm, at the Grant Harvey Centre.

UNB will be looking to advance to the AUS Championship. The Tommies will be looking to force a third and deciding game.

"We're feeling pretty good and we're pretty confident going into tomorrow's game, but we can't underestimate them. We've got to take it to them right away and play a consistent game" said Hargreaves.

RECAP BY: Evan Richtsfeld/UNB Athletics

PHOTOS BY: Fran Harris/for UNB Athletics