About Union
Union stays at home for the backend of one of two back-to-back home weekends in the 2023-24 season, hosting Holy Cross. Union split their series with Robert Morris to kick off their home slate at Messa Rink last weekend, defeating the Colonials in the home opener before dropping the finale in overtime. Five different goalscorers scored for the Garnet Chargers on Friday, before captain
Emily King scored in her 100th collegiate game on Saturday.
About Holy Cross
Holy Cross opens their 2023-24 season with a trip to Schenectady, looking to build off a ninth place finish in Hockey East a year ago. The Crusaders return only two scorers that registered double-digit points a year ago, and will rely on a quartet of defenders that played in every game and starting goalie Madison Beck to lead the way.
The Matchup
Union and Holy Cross will complete their home-and-home series that resulted in a split between the two schools in Worcester a year ago. Union dropped the opening game of the weekend before
Emily King's two goals led Union to the victory the next night. HC holds a 5-3 advantage in the series.
Behind the Garnet
Union opened their 2023-24 home slate last weekend, welcoming Robert Morris for their first trip to Schenectady since 2006.
The Garnet Chargers kicked things off in a big way Friday night, exploding for four third period goals en route to a 5-2 victory. Sophomore
Riley Walsh put up a career-high four points to lead the way.
Sophie Matsoukas was given the net both days, stopping 31 shots in the victory before rejecting another 26 Saturday.
The series with HC is Union's final non-conference home weekend in 2023-24, and is the backend of two consecutive home weekends for the Garnet, the first of two occurences with four total games.
It's Her Honor
After scoring her first collegiate goal and picking up an assist in Union's 5-2 home-opening victory over Robert Morris on 9/29,
Kendal Davidson was named the ECAC Hockey Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending on October 1, 2023. The award is Davidson's first selection of her career. Davidson's nomination makes her the first Garnet Charger to be named Defensive Player of the Week since d-partner
Stephanie Bourque was tabbed October 4th, 2022.
Keeping It 100
In Union's 9/30 contest with Robert Morris, senior
Emily King played in her 100th collegiate game. The captain celebrated the milestone in eloquent fashion, scoring a goal and going 20-29 from the faceoff dot in her landmark contest.
Save That Puck
As part of Union's 5-2 home opening victory over Robert Morris,
Allison Smith and
Kendal Davidson each found the back of the net for their first collegiate goals. Davidson picked up her first career point with an assist in the season opener at St. Cloud State, while Smith tallied five apples in her first two years of competition with the U.
Have A (Career) Night
Riley Walsh picked up where she left off after one of the best seasons in program histroy in 2022-23. After scoring Union's first goal of the season for the second straight year in the season opener at St. Cloud State, the sophomore put a career-high four points off a goal and three assists in the home-opener against Robert Morris. Walsh also put up a team-high six shots and finished the game tied for a team-best a +2 rating.
Leading The Way
The winningest coach in Union Women's Hockey program history,
Josh Sciba, returns for his eighth season behind the Garnet Chargers bench in 2023-24. Union will look to build off their 11 wins from 2022-23, the most in the program's Division 1 history.
Here To Assist
Joining Sciba behind the bench are Assistant Coaches
Chris Ardito and
Olivia Soares andÂ
Lora Ardoin. Ardito commences his third season with the program in 2023-24, while the current campaign with be Soares's second with Union. Ardoin joins the staff for her first season with the program.
New Blood
For the third straight year, Sciba and his staff have brought in eight student-athletes as their recruiting class. The Class of 2027 traverses three countries, three Canadian provinces, and four states, and includes four forwards, three blueliners, and one goaltender.
O-Zone Experience
Union returns 19 players from a season ago, including their seven highest leading point scorers. Sophomore
Riley Walsh tallied team-highs with 15 goals and 22 points in her first year at Union, good for third- and seventh-most in a single season in program history, while Senior
Emily King, who's 41 points are good for 10th most in Union's Division 1 era, returns for one last ride.
Anchoring the Blueline
Also apart of those 19 returnees are four blueliners that appeared in every game a season ago-
Stephanie Bourque,
Emma Hebert,
Meredith Killian, and
Allison Smith- and Union's starting- and second-winningest all-time- goaltender,
Sophie Matsoukas.Â
Charging Forward
Union's teams will be playing with a new name this season, as the College rebranded to the Garnet Chargers in August. The Garnet Chargers nickname was selected from a field over of 400 names submitted, and references the school's official color of over 150 years, Garnet, and Schenectady's legacy as a hub for electrical innovation and invention. Union also added a new "U" logo as part of the rebrand.
Scouting the Crusaders
For the third consecutive weekend, Union will face off with a team opening it's season. Holy Cross opens their campaign with just two non-conference weekends before getting into Hockey East play, looking to build off their seven wins from a season ago, their most in D1 history. HC finished ninth place in conference a year ago.Â
The Crusaders return only two scorers that registered double-digit points in 2022-23, however one of them, Millie Sirum, had a standout performance at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship. The senior forward led the tournament in goals and tied for the tournament lead in points while playing for the Norwegian National Team.Â
Holy Cross does return a quartet of defenders that played in every game last season, and goalie Madison Beck, who started in 24 and played in 26 of the Crusaders 34 games, Â also returns this season for the purple and white.
Captaining the Ship
2022-23 Captain
Emily King returns for her second season wearing the "C" for the Garnet Chargers, and her three Assistant Captains a season ago-
Celeste Beaudoin,
Meredith Killian, and
Allison Smith- have all been elevated to Captain for 2023-24.
Shock Warning
Union was picked to finish 12th in the ECAC Hockey preseason coaches poll after their finish in that position last year. The Garnet Chargers will look to build off their 11 wins from last season to surprise in 2023-24.
