Spirits were high at practice on Tuesday afternoon as the women's hockey team embarked on a series of passing drills. The day before, the team had notched their second win of the season, a 6-5 decision over Sacred Heart University.
“It was an exciting game,” recalled coach Tim Benson '99, speaking over the echo of slapshots hammering the boards in Achilles Rink. “We had a three-goal lead going into the third period. They came back, but we held them off.”
“I was really glad we won,” said player Denise Lapierre '99. “That four-hour ride home (from Bridgeport, Conn.) could have been long.”
The win brings the Union women's record to 2-5.
Hockey, once considered a mostly male domain at Union and other colleges, is flourishing as a women's club sport. This year's roster is at 22 players, four more than the travel squad.
What is especially remarkable is that more than half of Union's players have never played organized hockey before.
Most of the women who played before coming to Union honed their skating technique in prep school programs. But high school hockey programs are rare enough; hockey programs for girls are rarer still.
“Yeah, I played hockey before I came to Union,” quipped Charity McManaman '99 of Albany. “With my little brother.”
Recruiting is mostly a word-of-mouth effort. Like many of the players, Laura Morgenthau '99 says she didn't know Union had a women's club until last fall when she heard about it from another player. This year, players and coaches are talking with prep school coaches and former high school teammates, Benson said.
Now in its third year, the women's program has really begun to click, according to senior Mark Reid, who was recruited to coach the club when it started in the fall of 1993.
“It's encouraging. This year, we're looking at a lot of players who have picked up the skills and systems to play good hockey. And we're getting more players who have played
before.”
Coaching duties are shared by Benson (who does most of the on-ice coaching), Reid and Chip Mulkins '97. All are seasoned players. None are paid. Benson says the experience has caused him to consider a coaching career.
The women practice at least five days a week. This season's schedule has 11 games between Jan. 15 and March 3.
Team captains are Kristen Hoffman '97, Sarah Wilbur '98 and Tracy Marquis '98.
Other team members are seniors Heather Rock and Deena Alter; juniors Kim Troiani, Laura Felton and Jody Mousseau; sophomores Emily Snyder, Erin Smyth, Catherine Stock, Patricia
Acerbi; and freshmen Sarah Moss, Hilary Fitts, Charity McManaman. Allison Powers, Denise Lapierre, Nicole Rabideau, Kate Swanson, Leandra Collier, Lauren Locke and Laura
Morgenthau.
The women will face Skidmore College today (Feb. 16) at 3:15 in Achilles Rink. Their last home game of the season will be against Holy Cross on Friday, Feb. 23, at 3:15 p.m.
Away games at Skidmore (Feb. 24) and Troy Academy (March 3) will round out the schedule.