REISTERSTOWN, Md. -- Manhattanville roared out of the gates with three goals in the opening period, turning in a clinical performance to stun Stevenson, 4-1, in the UCHC Quarterfinals on Wednesday night inside the Reisterstown Sportsplex. 

Sixth-seeded Manhattanville (10-12-3) sputtered to close out the regular season, but will advance to the UCHC Semifinals with the postseason triumph. Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Stevenson (18-7-1) got on the board late in the third with a marker from Frank Vitucci to cap the scoring at 4-1. 

The Valiants leveled the all-time series at 6-6, posting their second win of the year inside the Reisterstown Sportsplex. AJ Bella had first-period goals sandwiched between a tally from Raymond Speerbrecker as the Valiants took a commanding lead that the Mustangs could not recover from. Josh Fletcher added some insurance with a shorthanded empty-net goal for a 4-0 Manhattanville advantage in the third. 

Both sides ripped 27 shots on the night as Ryan Kenny made 23 saves. Tyler Roy allowed just one blemish on his way to a strong 26-save effort for the visiting Valiants. 

Liam McCanney and Malcolm Palmer, two first-year contributors, added the assists on the late goal for Vitucci at 19:37. Vitucci netted his team-best 12th goal of the season after racing in and placing a shot that beat Roy. 

After building the 3-0 lead, Manhattanville killed off an early Mustang power play chance in the second period. Stevenson pressed forward toward the end of the second and into the third, including a sequence of scoring chances from McCanney, Seth Bergeron, Eric Olson, Ryan Patrick and Brendan Rylott in just under a two-minute span. 

Moments after Manhattanville added the empty netter, a scrum ensued in the third period that sent multiple players to the penalty box for each side as frustrations boiled over for the Mustangs. 

Manhattanville advances to face top-seed Utica on Saturday, February 26.