FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) certainly made quite an impression in her collegiate debut for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team Friday evening.
 
Hafiz scored her first collegiate goal and assisted on another in helping the Cardinals to their first win of the 2016-17 campaign—and helping coach Terry Mannor collect his 100^th career coaching victory—with a 4-3 nonconference triumph over Marian at the Blue Line Ice Center.
 
Hafiz got Saint Mary's on the board first, tallying her first goal as a Cardinal at 9:50 to give the Cardinals the 1-0 advantage.
 
An advantage that held up until midway through the second stanza, when Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) beat Marian goalie Lindsay Strainis—off an assist from Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) to push the Cardinal lead to 2-0.
 
And the Cardinals weren't finished, as Henderson joined Hafiz with a two-point night of her own, scoring her first of the season before the second period would end to give Saint Mary's a commanding 3-0 advantage heading into the final period.
 
That advantage quickly vanished early in the third period, as Marian scored twice in the first 2:18 to cut the gap to one, 3-2.
 
Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) gave the Cardinals a little breathing room, taking a feed from Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill.) and beating Strainis for her first of the season at 6:56, but the Sabres weren't about to throw in the towel, scoring with 50 seconds remaining to once again make it a one-goal game.
 
That, however, would be as close as Marian would get, as the Cardinals held on for the season-opening victory.
 
Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) picked up the win in goal, stopping 21 of the 24 shots she faced, while Strainis finished with 15 saves between the pipes for Marian.
 
The Cardinals (1-0-0 overall) are back in action on Saturday afternoon, heading to the Resch Olympic Pavilion in Ashwaubenon, Wis., for a 2 p.m. nonconference game against St. Norbert.