The week before the Fourth of July, there was a feeling of pride among world-class American athletes on foreign soil. It was not the Olympians, at least not yet. It was felt by the United States Women’s Ball Hockey team in Switzerland at the Women’s Ball Hockey World Championship.
Sarah Hughson ’18 and Madelyn Evangelous ’19 were key contributors during the Americans’ run to glory. Following a 3-0 win in the gold medal game against Czechia, the Americans, featuring two Elmira alumnae from the 2018 national runners-up women’s ice hockey team, took their place at the top of the women’s ball hockey world.
For Hughson, taking home the gold for their home country is a feeling like no other. The gold medal winner described it as “an athlete’s dream” and being rewarded for their hard work with the gold is “surreal”.
Hughson’s experience playing ball hockey began after her time at EC. After leaving EC, Hughson began playing with the Connecticut Whale, saying “a college teammate of mine invited me to come play in a tournament with her and I fell in love with [the sport].” After originally being asked to join Team USA in 2019, Hughson has made it her goal to earn a spot on the roster every year and has now finished her third tournament on the American team.
While at Elmira, Hughson played lacrosse in addition to ice hockey, supplying her with a unique set of skills combined with experience on a similar playing surface to ball hockey. The training Hughson does to prepare for these tournaments includes “a cross-training of my ice and lacrosse programming from Elmia. I try to do hit runs and bikes to train, and that’s been the main focus. I also try to get outside to stickhandle and shoot as much as possible.”
Evangelous, who had been dreaming of representing Team USA since she was little, said it was “a dream come true” to don the stars and stripes. She has been playing ball hockey in a hometown league since the age of three and considers ball hockey to come before ice hockey. After EC, a former teammate invited her to play in organized tournaments and the Leominster Women’s League.
Evangelous prepared for this year’s world championships by doing a lot of shuttle running and sprints combined with strength and conditioning classes at a local gym to be able to play large minutes and be available when needed most. Evangelous also did shooting work at a local rink to keep her skills sharp.
For both women, taking home the gold medal felt the complete opposite of not being able to take home the national championship in 2018 with EC. Hughson shared that it was “really special to do it with Maddie on my team and Daysjia on the bench to keep us healthy. We worked hard for it and it will be an experience I will never forget.” Evangelous echoed her teammate’s remarks saying, “it felt so amazing to get it done this time. Putting on that gold medal was an absolute honor.”
Daysjia Black ’19, a former trainer at Elmira, played a big role in preparing and keeping the American women in top condition to be able to make a deep run and eventually win the tournament.
In addition to having three gold-medal winners on the American team, EC had a current player on Great Britain’s team. Lydia Walsh ’27 helped anchor Britain’s blue line during the tournament and hopes to bring her experience with her back to EC.
“It was a huge accomplishment and honour to be chosen to represent my country, all the hours of work and dedication I put into training felt like it paid off. Since I started playing hockey, I always looked up to the women representing GB and thought how amazing it would be to get to that level. So, to finally achieve that almost doesn’t feel real, but I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to and hopefully will continue to in the future,” Walsh explained after finishing her first international tournament.
When Walsh learned of the EC-heavy presence on the American side, she was excited to compete against the women who have gone through the same program she is now. “I really enjoyed playing the tournament-favourite teams, such as USA and Canada. I know being a newer team it would be a challenge as most of the opposition have a lot more experience and have been playing [together] longer. It was really exciting to know that there were Elmira alumnae on the USA team. They had come through the same hockey process I am just beginning. It was a really high-tempo, competitive game and I could definitely tell there were a lot of college [players] on the team due to their skill and IQ level.”
The tournament being played in Switzerland marked Walsh’s first time in the country. Her team stayed in a World War II bunker, took hikes and rode gondolas on their off days, and slept in three-tier bunk beds. Despite dealing with the cramped conditions, Walsh says Switzerland is a beautiful country and her team enjoyed their time between the mountains.
For Walsh, a young player who now has experience playing against professionals, the adjustments will serve her well throughout the rest of her time at EC. “The games were hugely competitive and fast tempo. Being one of the youngest players in the whole tournament meant I had to really push hard to compete. Many of the women [I was] up against were a lot older and more experienced. I enjoyed the challenge, coming in with no expectations on myself or from others allowed me to push harder to prove I can compete at that level. Taking the Player of the Game in the Slovakia game was a real high point for me.”
As if playing against tougher opponents was not enough, Walsh also found time to adjust from playing with skates to playing with turf shoes. While the same skills can be applied, the cardio aspect of being unable to glide, like a player could on the ice, was challenging. “It’s definitely a lot harder on the legs and the cardio as there is no gliding. You are constantly running or sprinting during your shift.” Handing a ball on her stick instead of a puck took time to get used to as well for Walsh, as the ball is lighter and harder to control than a puck.
For Walsh, a similar route to Hughson and Evangelous is possible. Coming off a national championship loss in March, Walsh’s focus is now on a calendar year that began with being one of the youngest players in an international tournament and ends with a national championship win for EC women’s ice hockey.
