SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The two rivals are ready to meet for the first time this year, as the Union College women's hockey team will take on long time rival RPI at home at Messa Rink on Friday, January 24, followed by the annual Mayor's Cup at Times Union Center on Saturday, January 25.
About the Dutchwomen:
- Union continued a long month of home games and hosted Yale and Brown at Messa Rink on January 17th and 18th.
- After first-year forward Leah Herrfort opened up the game's scoring versus Brown, senior defender Megan Ryan decided to get in on the scoring herself and improved the Dutchwomen lead to two.
- Brown eventually got on the board in the second as well, but Ryan decided to add one more to secure the win for Union after a scoreless third. Ryan's two goals in the game are a single-game high for her career.
- The Dutchwomen outshot the Bears by a wide margin, 34-18. First-year goaltender Bella McKee made 17 saves, while her counterpart from Brown, Hayley Kliczko, made 21.
- The Dutchwomen continued the weekend with the Bulldogs of Yale and suffered a 4-2 loss here in Schenectady.
- Yale scored the first two goals of the game in the first two minutes apart. To close out the first, the Dutchwomen denied a shutout for the Bulldogs, courtesy of a goal from sophomore Maia Martinez, to get Union on the board. With the goal, Martinez already surpassed her previous season's goal total by two goals.
- The second period was a scoreless one, but the Bulldogs added two more in the third to secure them the win. First-year defender Emily King scored her second goal on the season to close the score out.
- In the game, the Dutchwomen had a close advantage in shots on goal, 29-28. McKee made 24 saves in the conference matchup.
About the Engineers:
- The Engineers also hosted Yale and Brown last weekend and fell in both games with a combined score of 6-1. With the losses, RPI continues their winless season with a 0-24-1 overall record.
- RPI is led in scoring in all major offensive categories by upperclassmen. Senior Blake Orosz leads the lead in goals (4) and points (6), while senior Sabrina Repaci leads in assists (4) and shots on goal (66). Juniors Lauren Severson (four points) and Morgan Ondrick (three points) to round out the top scorers.
- Goaltending duties for the Engineers belong primarily to first-year Ena Nystrom, who has started 17 games this season. Nystrom leads all RPI goaltenders in time played (965:24). Classmate Amanda Rampado has also seen time in net for RPI, starting seven games, and leads the pair in goals against average (3.04) and save percentage (.921).
- Brown is currently 0-10-1 on the road so far. The matchup between the two teams is the first on the season.
- With their 0-14-0 record in ECAC Conference play, the Engineers are 12th in the conference.
The Series with RPI:
- Friday's meeting between Union and Brown is the 40th all-time meeting between the two conference foes, with Union sitting at 4-30-5 historically.
- The two teams last played each other in last year's Mayor's Cup game in Albany, where RPI took a 2-1 win over Union.
A Golden Year:
- During winter break, head coach Josh Sciba traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia, as the assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team, for the second consecutive season.
- Team USA earned a gold medal in Slovakia, after earning an overtime win over Canada on January 2nd. This marks the second U18 world medal for Sciba, as Team USA earned a silver medal in 2019.
Milestone Watch:
- Senior Rachel de Perio currently needs one more point in her 40 total points for her career. De Perio currently sits tied for second on the team in points, with four goals and five assists for nine points so far.
- Senior Cheyenne Harris currently has 33 assists, good enough for fourth in Union history for career assists. Harris needs three more to reach the first all-time. Currently, the leader for all-time assists belongs to Christine Valente '15, who had 36 in her career. All five first-year skaters on the roster have scored their first career goals this season, all in 2019.
A Rivalry, Renewed:
- Saturday's matchup with the RPI Engineers is the annual Mayor's Cup game, taking place at the Times Union Center in Albany. This is the third year for the women's edition of the rivalry game in the Capital Region, with the Engineers winning each of the first two games by the same 2-1 score.
- In last year's Mayor's Cup game, the lone Union goal came from sophomore Katie Sonntag, while senior Amelia Murray made 23 saves to keep the game close for the Dutchwomen.
- The women's game will be followed by the Union men's hockey team playing RPI, with the Dutchmen playing to take home the Mayor's Cup once again this year.
