SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - This past Friday, the Union College women's hockey team celebrated a historic season at its annual end-of-the-year banquet, and announced their 2023-24 team award winners.
 
Sophomore defender Stephanie Bourque and junior goaltender Sophie Matsoukas were honored as co-winners of the George Morrison Team Most Valuable Player. The award, which is voted by their teammates, is given to the player who had a significant role in all of the team's success, was looked at to be a leader in the face of adversity, and was someone that the team highly valued as the most consistent contributor on and off the ice. 
 
After an impressive rookie season tied for the fifth-most points on the team, Bourque elevated her game in 2023-24, scoring a career-best five goals and picking up eight assists for a new career-high 13 points, while drastically improving her defensive game, finishing second on the team in takeaways with 346. Her five goals were tied for the third-most on the team and led all blueliners, while her 13 points saw her finish fourth on the team and again tops amongst the defense. The Moncton, New Brunswick native's eight helpers were fourth-most this past season and were second in the defensive group. Bourque was also one of eight to appear in all 35 games in 2023-24, helping set a new program single-season games played record.
 
Matsoukas continued her incredible Union career with a strong season between the pipes of the Union net. Matsoukas played in 31 games in 2023-24, posting a career-best 3.15 goals against average and .892 save percentage, while earning seven wins, the fourth most in a single season in program history. The Ottawa, Ontario's seventh win of the season- at #15 Penn State on January 5th- was the 21st victory of her career, setting a new program all-time wins record, while backstopping Union to their second-ever win over a ranked opponent. With her first save on January 31st against Harvard, Matsoukas became the third goalie in program history to reach the 2,000 saves mark. Matsoukas also garnered ECAC Hockey MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week honors on December 12th after stopping 53 of 56 shots (.946 save percentage) in Union's sweep over Rensselaer on December 8th and 9th.
 
The "Ancora Imparo" Process Award was given to junior forward Maya Jones. The award, coined for the Italian phrase "I am still learning", is awarded to the player who has shown the most improvement over the course of the season or from last year to this year, and whose development process has fueled growth on and off the ice.
 
Jones joined Bourque in the group of eight that played in all 35 games in 2023-24, scoring one goal and adding one assist. Jones was a key contributor with her reliability in anchoring Union's bottom-six, and was second in faceoff percentage amongst all players that took at least 50 draws with her career-best 48.7 winning percentage in her first full season at the center position. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native was lauded for her extreme work ethic and commitment to the team, embracing her role in her transition to center from defense and as a key member of Union's penalty kill.
 
For the second consecutive year, senior defender Meredith Killian was given the Garnet Glue Award, and junior defender Maren Friday earned the Hana Yamashita Award.
 
Selected by her teammates and coaches, the Garnet Glue Award goes to the student-athlete who best exemplifies servant leadership and goes above and beyond to validate and empower her teammates.
 
Killian, who was elevated to captain before the season, played in a career-best 34 games for the third straight year and matched a career-best from a season ago with five points. The senior scored the program's first-ever Division I postseason goal and registered her first career multipoint game in Union's ECAC Hockey Championships Opening Round matchup at #14 Yale, and showed her selflessness and toughness to play against with two or more blocked shots in 18 games and three or more blocks in six contests. The St. Paul, Minnesota native was praised for her consistent attitude and dedication to her teammates and the program, her vocal presence in times of adversity, as well as her positive outlook and vivacious energy.
 
The Hana Yamashita '97 Award, named after the alum who started the women's ice hockey club team in 1994 and helped elevate it to varsity status, is given to the player that shows a supreme competitiveness, consistently giving 100% effort in both practice and games, and is extraordinarily conditioned with an unmatched work ethic. 
 
Friday continued her successful Union career by joining the new program record group, playing in all 35 games in her junior season while scoring three goals and adding five assists for eight points, top-seven on the team and top-three on the defense in all three categories. She scored the third game-winner of her career by scoring the program's lone shorthanded goal of the season on December 8th at Rensselaer. The Duluth, Minnesota local has continually set the program's benchmark for fitness, effort in practice, and success in the classroom, and has been the program's nominee for the ECAC Hockey Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year Award the past two years.
 
The program also celebrated the many individual and team milestones that occurred during the season.
 
The team kicked off their penultimate season at Messa Rink with their first home-opening victory since 2013, when they defeated Robert Morris on September 29th, 5-2. Senior defender Allison Smith's first career goal 5:14 into the third period held up to be the game-winner.
 
The following weekend, Union got hat tricks in consecutive games for the first time in program history, with the third goals from sophomore Riley Walsh and first-year Maddie Leaney each coming in overtime. Walsh's hat trick on October 6th was the program's first three-goal game in almost 10 years, while Leaney's performance the next night helped kickstart an incredible rookie season for the first-year and played a large part in her landing ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week and Rookie of the Month honors.
 
Union began ECAC Hockey play with their most successful conference opening weekend since 2017 and their best first conference road weekend in their Division I era. Leaney scored the second game-winner of her young career on October 20th at Harvard to secure the first conference opening game win for the team since 2017 before senior Emily King scored in the third period the next day to bring the Garnet Chargers even with Dartmouth, tallying four and a half points as the team went 1-0-1 on the weekend.
 
Following a stretch of eight competitive games with seven coming against ranked opponents, Union returned to the win column in impressive fashion on December 8th and 9th. The program secured its first weekend sweep over crosstown rival Rensselaer since 2020, and the first in true home-and-home fashion ever. Friday's game-winner that fateful Friday night gave Union their first win in Troy in over 11 years before senior Celeste Beaudoin's second two-goal game of her career the following afternoon helped complete the sweep.
 
After the holiday break, the Garnet Chargers kicked off the New Year in dominating fashion on January 1st with a 6-0 victory at Saint Michael's. First-Year Emma Fulawka led the way with the program's third hat trick of the season, just the second time the program reached the occurrence in the Division I era and matched the program's total number of hat tricks in the last 19 seasons combined. Sophomore Riley Walsh etched her name into the Union record book, becoming the first player in the program's Division I era to record multiple 20-point seasons with her two assists, while senior Kaitlyn Ehmann added her first career goal and Matsoukas posted her first shutout in almost two years.
 
Bourque and Leaney connected on the overtime winner in Union's first road victory over a ranked opponent, at #15 Penn State on January 5th. The win set Union's season-long win streak at four and unbeaten games at five, matching program records. Matsoukas recorded one of her strongest performances of the season, stopping 34 shots, her second-highest tally of the season to lock down her record-setting victory.
 
Walsh put her name on another Union record at #4 Colgate on February 9th. With her third-period goal, Walsh set the program's new single-season Division I points record with her 25th point of the campaign. The Duxbury, Massachusetts native added assists the next afternoon at #6/7 Cornell and the following Saturday against #9 Quinnipiac to set the new benchmark at 27.
 
The highlights continued through Senior Day, when the program honored their senior class of Beaudoin, Hope Crisafi, Ehmann, Killian, and Smith, and the program's first-ever Division I playoff appearance, when they faced off with #14 Yale in the Opening Round of the ECAC Women's Hockey Championships. King picked up the primary assist on Killian's momentous goal in the playoff contest, setting the new program record with the 38th helper of her illustrious career. King completed her Union career with 58 points, fourth most in program history and second most in the Division I era.
 
The team also recognized the individual milestones of first-year Kendal Davidson, who was named the ECAC Hockey Defender of the Week on October 3rd, Leaney's nomination as the Hockey Commissioners Association runner-up for the National Rookie of the Month for the end of September and October and her selection to the HCA Rookie of the Year Watch List, and the program's Cystic Fibrosis Awareness and Pink the Rink Nights, where they raised nearly $4,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and American Cancer Society.
 
An additional video consisting of images, videos, and messages from teammates was created and played for the senior class, acknowledging them for their success and contributions to each individual and the program as a whole.