PLATTSBURGH — All four of Plattsburgh State's goals Sunday came from juniors. They were all key to beating Elmira, but they were also a good sign for the Cardinals overall.

Seniors Stephanie Moberg and Laurie Bowler were both among Plattsburgh State's top five scorers last year, but coach Kevin Houle said coming in that the team would need some of its other upperclassmen to step into bigger roles than they held in the past.

Brittany Meade and Steph Moon both came up huge Sunday with the tying and winning goal, respectively.

"They both play in all situations, and it was great to see those two — a couple of girls that weren't in the limelight a lot last year — finish it off," Houle said.

Meade also had an assist in Saturday's win over Elmira.

Megan DiJulio had Plattsburgh State's first two goals Sunday. She tied it at 1-1 with 5:27 left in the first period, and after the Soaring Eagles pulled ahead again, DiJulio responded during a power play by flipping the puck in 1:15 before intermission.

"Meg was a force out there all game long," Houle said.

DiJulio and Moon both played every game last year, and Meade dressed for all but six. They were at the middle of the team's scoring list.

All three have skated on the top two lines this season and played on special teams.

DiJulio has a team-high four goals and is tied for second in points with Meade (1-3-4) and sophomore defenseman Erika Shaubel (1-3-4). Moon and junior defenseman Kara Buehler are next with three points.

QUICK TURNAROUND
The Cardinals (4-0, 4-0 ECAC West) don't get any time to rest after their big weekend against their rival. They visit Potsdam tonight.

The Bears (3-4, 1-3), who are in their second season, got thrashed by RIT over the weekend 6-2 and 17-1. That pushed their goals allowed this season to 35.

Annmarie Lewis leads Potsdam with three goals and four assists, and Stephanie Simons has six points.

Moon said the Cardinals, who moved up two spots to No. 2 in the USCHO.com Division III Women's Poll this week, will be wary of a letdown today.

"We just try to always stay up," Moon said. "Because (in the opening) weekend at Chatham, we didn't have a great showing. And we know that any team is capable of anything at any time — I mean, we were losing to Chatham in the first period of one game. You just never know when any team's going to pop a goal in."

The second game between the two North Country teams will be Feb. 16 in Plattsburgh.

A LEG UP
The Cardinals still have a long way to go in the ECAC West, but they put themselves in great position in the conference by sweeping Elmira in just the second weekend of their season.

Last year, after suffering an early loss to Utica, they only managed a split at Elmira and then fell further behind with a split at RIT.

They're currently in first place in the ECAC West standings and are already the only team left without a loss or a tie.

"There's no doubt at this point in time we have a leg up," Houle said. "Obviously we still have to play Neumann and RIT and Utica, and everybody else really. But to take four points from (Elmira) is huge.

"Just a great start, that's all it is. You can't get too caught up in it."

Plattsburgh State closes the first semester by hosting Neumann Dec. 5-6 and plays RIT and Utica in January.

E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com