ASHLAND, Wis. -- The Lawrence University women's hockey team made history Saturday afternoon.
    The Vikings knocked off Northland College 2-0 in a nonconference game at the Bay Area Civic Center to notch the first victory in the history of the program, which began play in 2021.
    Lawrence (1-8-0) got a short-handed goal in the second period and sealed the victory with an empty-netter in the final two minutes.
    "We talked about that every period we had to be better. We had to win the (third) period," Lawrence coach Kevin Dessart said. "They stuck to the plan. We talked about this all season that's it's a process."
    After a scoreless opening period, the Vikings got on the board early in the second. Lawrence was on the penalty kill after Laney Martens was sent off for tripping at the 3:33 mark, but the Vikings struck first. Lindsey Gulliksen scored the short-hander, the first of her career, for Lawrence at the 4:32 mark and a 1-0 lead.
    Lawrence goaltender Sydney Seeley kept the Vikings ahead as she stopped 16 shots in the second period to push her total to 25 for the first two periods. The Vikings put the clamps on Northland (2-6-1) in the final period as the Lumberjills were limited to just four shots on goal for the final 20 minutes.
    Northland was finally forced to pull goaltender Teagen Johnson with 1:46 left in the third period. Northland didn't get a shot off before Lawrence's Sofia Alvarez got control of the puck and put in the empty-netter with 1:19 left for a 2-0 edge.
    "It was nice to see that puck go in at the end," Dessert said with a smile. "It was really a nice win. The Northland coach congratulated us after the game. He said, 'Your girls really wanted it.' "
    Seeley finished with 29 saves to earn her first collegiate victory and shutout. Johnson made 27 saves for Northland. 
    Lawrence returns to action next weekend with a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series at Aurora University.