BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Fredonia State closed out the regular season with a hard-fought 9–8 victory over Buffalo State on Wednesday securing another Battle by the Lake point for the Devils while also locking up the No. 5 seed in the SUNYAC conference tournament. 

Buffalo State struck first, building a 3–0 lead in the opening quarter behind a pair of goals from Vanessa Willick and another from Kira Grzechowiak. Fredonia' State's offense broke through early in the second when Shaliyah Helmick converted a man-up opportunity to get the Devils on the board. Katie O'Brien followed with a free-position goal, and after Buffalo briefly extended the lead, Jenna Slamka and Piper Evangelist each scored on man-up chances to tie the game at 4–4. O'Brien then finished a feed from Mieley Baran to give Fredonia State its first lead before the Bengals answered late to even things at 5–5 heading into halftime.

Fredonia State regained control early in the third quarter when Baran scored while the Devils were a player down, making it 6–5. Buffalo State responded with back-to-back goals to take a 7–6 lead entering the final period. In the fourth, Baran tied the game off an assist from Evangelist, and Leah Kunisch followed with an unassisted goal to give Fredonia State an 8–7 edge. The Bengals answered once more, but Kunisch delivered the decisive moment, scoring a man-up goal off a pass from Slamka with just over three minutes remaining to seal the 9–8 victory. 

Baran led the Devils with three points (2 goals, 1 assist), while O'Brien and Kunisch each added two goals. Slamka and Evangelist both recorded a goal and an assist. Defensively for the Devils, Camryn Jacobs caused five turnovers to lead the effort, while Alyssa Vukosic added four ground balls. Vanessa Willick paced Buffalo State with five points (3 goals, 2 assists), and Kira Grzechowiak added three goals for the Bengals as well. 

In net, Jessica Kowalski made nine saves, including several key stops late in the game to preserve the one-goal lead. Buffalo State's Moira Penot finished with 13 saves, while Brielle Lum added two in relief. 

With the win, Fredonia State improves to 9–8 overall and 5–4 in conference play. The Devils will travel to Oneonta for the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs on Saturday, April 25 at 11:00 a.m.