ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College women’s ice hockey program will take the ice this Saturday for a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) semifinal round matchup against the William Smith College Herons inside the Murray Athletic Center beginning at 3:00 P.M. This will be the third consecutive meeting between the Soaring Eagles and the Herons in the conference semifinals.
The Elmira College women (18-7-1, 14-3-1 NEHC) advanced to the NEHC semifinals following a 10-1 victory against No. 7 seed Plymouth State University last Saturday inside the Murray Athletic Center. The Soaring Eagles trailed 1-0 through 20 minutes of action against the Panthers before rattling off 10 unanswered goals including a 4-goal performance from McKenzie Schmidt ’25.
William Smith (17-8-1, 11-6-1 NEHC) advanced to the semifinals after defeating Castleton 4-0 in Geneva last Saturday. The No. 3 seed Herons tallied a late power-play goal in the first period while adding another goal in the second period and two more in the third period. William Smith goaltender Annie Hauser registered 38 saves including 18 in the third period as the Herons held the Spartans to a 0-for-5 showing on the power play.
In the head-to-head matchup between the Soaring Eagles and Herons, Elmira holds a 19-1-1 record and is 8-0-0 against William Smith since joining the NEHC before the start of the 2021-22 season. Elmira rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits last season in the NEHC Semifinals against the Herons as EC tallied a pair of third-period goals with Holley Riva ’23 netting the eventual game-winning goal at the 12:56 mark of the final frame.
Elmira has won both matchups this season against William Smith as the Purple & Gold skated to a 3-0 victory in Geneva on January 26th and notched a 3-1 victory the next day at The Murray Athletic Center. In the matchup on January 27th at The MAC, Elmira used a pair of third-period goals from Emma Bradbury ’26 to break a 1-1 tie after Emma Faso scored earlier in the frame for the Herons.
The Soaring Eagles have been guided this season by veteran leadership and All-NEHC selections Claire Meeder ’23, Erika Goleniak ’25, Madi Morton ’24, and Lexi Hoffmann ’24. Meeder and Goleniak have accounted for 52 points through 26 games this season for the Purple & Gold, while first-year skater Anna Lugge ’27 was named to the NEHC All-Rookie squad and has tallied 21 points for EC.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Similarly to last season, the Elmira College Department of Athletics will be offering free admission to all New England Hockey Conference tournament games played at the Murray Athletic Center. A donation box will be available at the ticketing table, with proceeds going to help offset all ice hockey postseason travel costs.
NEHC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
#1 Norwich def. #8 Johnson & Wales, 2-0 | Box Score
#2 Elmira def. #7 Plymouth State, 10-1 | Box Score
#3 William Smith def. #6 Castleton, 4-0 | Box Score
#5 Southern Maine def. #4 UMass Boston, 5-0 | Box Score
NEHC SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE:
#5 Southern Maine at #1 Norwich – 3:00 P.M.
#3 William Smith at #2 Elmira – 3:00 P.M.
