WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College women's hockey team will play an NCAA First Round game against Plattsburgh State this Saturday, March 14, at 3 p.m. in Lansing Chapman Rink, continuing what has been an excellent season for the Ephs.
Tickets are available online at this link for fans to purchase in advance, and can also be purchased at the rink, with cash accepted. Also on the day of the game: the first 125 students with a Williams ID will get in free! Doors open at 2 p.m.
The Ephs hold a record of 17-4-5 and a #9 ranking in the latest USCHO poll, and will square off against the #11 ranked Cardinals, owners of a 20-6-1 record and a SUNYAC championship. The two teams met earlier this season, with Williams earning a 2-1 win in Plattsburgh.
The Cardinals are a familiar foe for the Ephs, as the teams have met for a game in each of the last five seasons, and the last time the Williams women were in the NCAA tournament, in the quarterfinals in 2019, the team paid a visit to Plattsburgh. The two squads also met in the 2014 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Williams has arrived in the NCAA Tournament after a season in which the team has the most wins since 2018-19, and has battled near the top of the NESCAC throughout the season. The Ephs dropped a NESCAC Tournament semifinal to eventual champion Amherst, and both of those Little Three rivals will be representing the conference in the NCAA Tournament.
The Ephs have benefited from the play of NESCAC Player of the Year Erin Pye, whose excellent goaltending has been a constant in net for four years. Pye is among the statistical leaders in Division III in most goaltending categories. The offense has been a balanced attack, with 17 players having scored at least once this season and 12 players owning at least three goals, led by Lucie Bond, Charlotte Fetherston, and Annie Gallagher, each with eight. Savana Littlewood leads the team with 13 assists, and Bond, Fetherston, and Celine Mayer are just behind with 10 each.
The Cardinals arrive on a roll, having won the SUNYAC tournament in relatively straightforward fashion, after a 7-0 win over William Smith in the semifinal and a 4-1 win over Cortland in the championship game, extending an unbeaten streak to 11 games. Plattsburgh's high-flying offense is averaging 3.4 goals per game, with first-year Bailey MacKellar leading the team with 13 goals, and 12 players each having five goals or more. Maddie Stetson and Chloe Lewis have split time in goal, with each goalie owning a save percentage above .900.
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinal at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, who earned a first-round bye with a 27-1 record on the season.
