2009-2010 Season Preview

2009 ECAC West Champions!!
2008 ECAC West Champions!!
2005 ECAC West Champions!!
2004 ECAC West Champions!!
2002 and 2003 NCAA National Champions!!
2002 and 2003 ECAC West Champions!!



The 2009-10 Elmira College Women’s Hockey team enters the season looking to continue the program’s winning tradition. 2008-09 ECAC West Co-Coach of the Year, Greg Fargo ’06, will guide the Soaring Eagles into the 2009-10 season. Last season the women proved to be a Division III powerhouse, knocking off some of the country’s toughest competition before falling to Amherst in the NCAA Championship game. EC finished the season with a 24-5-1 record, its highest win total since the 26-win season of 2001-02. Elmira College will look to make their eighth NCAA tournament appearance in the program’s nine year history.

Elmira College, whose offense was second in the Eastern College Athletic Conference West Division at 4.67 goals a game, scored five or more goals in 13 games all of which ended in wins for the Purple and Gold. Captain Jenna McCall ’10 (Thamesford, ONT -- Bluewater Hawks) will lead the Soaring Eagles offensive attack in the 2009 season. McCall finished the 2008-09 season with 19 goals and 26 assists for a total of 45 points, second-highest in the ECAC West conference. McCall’s ’08-09 achievements earned her Second Team All-ECAC West honors.

Forwards Melanie Henshaw ’10 (Margate, FL -- North American Hockey Academy), Lauryn DePaul ’10 (Liverpool, NY -- Syracuse Stars U19), and Karen Colehour ’10 (Schenectady, NY -- Albany Ice Cats U19) will also be looked to for an offensive spark for the Purple and Gold. Henshaw’s style of play should provide the perfect compliment to McCall on the offensive end of the ice. Henshaw achieved a career-high of 19 assists in her third season at Elmira College last season. DePaul was third on the team, and sixth in the conference, in goals with 16, and Colehour was Elmira College’s fourth leading point gainer with 29; 12 goals and 17 assists.

Second year forwards Lindsay Mitchell ’12 (Arnold, MD - NAHA), Alex McPhail ’12 (Oakville, ONT -- Toronto Aeros), Monica Valente ’12 (Watertown, CT -- Kent School), Caitlin Manahan ’12 (St. Albans, VT -- BFA, Vermont Selects), and Alex Bresler ’12 (Golden, CO -- Colorado Selects) gained valuable winning experience last season and will all look to improve their contributions to the EC offensive attack in the 2009-10 season. Mitchell ranked sixth on the ECAC West Rookie scoring leader board with 18 points in ’08-09.

As potent as the EC offense was, its defense was just as effective giving up just 1.27 goals per contest, second best in the ECAC West conference. Fourth year defenders Jamie Kivi ’10 (Green Bay, WI -- Wisconsin Wild) and Tiffany Hart ’10 (Perth, ONT -- Perth Jr. Wings) will be the main contributors on the defensive end of the ice during the 2009-10 season. Kivi and Hart were first and third in the conference in defensive scoring with 27 and 20 points respectively. Kivi’s 22 assists were the third by an Elmira College player in the ’08-09 season, and helped her earn First Team All-American honors. For their performances last season, Kivi and Hart were awarded First Team All-ECAC West.

Carly Richardson ’10 (Barrie, ONT -- Clearview Stars), Ana Steele-Norton ’10 (Kennett Square, PA -- Millbrook School), Kathryn Walker ’12 (Edmonds, WA -- Colorado Selects), and Amanda Ritzel ’11 (Spencerport, NY -- Toronto Rattlers) will also provide reliable depth and consistency for the Soaring Eagles’ defense in ’09-10.

At the foundation of this year’s defense are three first year goaltenders looking to make an immediate impact this winter. Lauren Sullivan ’13 (Toronto, ONT -- Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute), Laura Proietto ’13 (Woodbridge, ONT -- Etobicoke Dolphins Midget AA), and Samantha Maguire ’13 (Findlay, OH -- Findlay) will provide the Purple and Gold solid minutes defending the net throughout the season. Lack of experience will not be a factor as each athlete has the talent to become a premier goaltender in the ECAC West conference.

The Soaring Eagles welcome five other first year players to the ice, Jill Debus ’13 (Howell, MI -- Hartland), Amber Tirri ’13 (Ringwood, NJ -- Wycoming Seminary), Mary-Kate Gellerman ’13 (Frederick, MD -- Urbana), Madison Johnston ’13 (Toronto, ONT -- Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute), and Caitlin Metcalf ’13 (Calgary, AB -- Edge School). These players will look to make an impact during the 2009-10 season as the team strives for another birth in the NCAA Tournament.