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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - After defeating No. 11-ranked Plattsburgh State in a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory during the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Lansing Chapman Rink on March 14, the No. 9 Williams College women's ice hockey team has its sights set on a matchup against No. 1 University of Wisconsin-River Falls during the national quarterfinals Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern Time in River Falls, Wisconsin.
"We are looking forward to the opportunity to head west to play River Falls," said head coach
Meghan Gillis. "I thought our team played a very strong third period and overtime Saturday, and I am hoping we can bring the pace and synergy with us into this weekend. The penalty kill was outstanding the whole game against Plattsburgh."
The Ephs (18-4-5, 9-3-4 NESCAC) have compiled a tremendous 2025-26 season, at the unit has earned the most single-season victories for the program since the 2018-19 season. Williams has defeated four ranked opponents, going 2-0 against eventual NESCAC runner-up Colby and Plattsburgh State, while embarking on a 16-game undefeated streak with a 13-0-3 record from Nov. 19 - Jan 31.
The group will be making its third trip to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, with the other appearances taking place in 2014 and 2019. The Ephs earned their second-ever NCAA win last weekend against Plattsburgh. During the victory, Pye stopped 28-of-29 shots for a .966 save percentage, as she made 15 enormous stops in the second period. Sophomore
Charlotte Fetherston scored the equalizer with 17:34 remaining in the third, and then first-year
Savana Littlewood buried the game-winning goal at the 3:18 mark of overtime.
Williams hosted its first NESCAC Tournament game since 2019, as the third-seeded Ephs outlasted sixth-seeded Wesleyan, 5-3, on Feb. 28 during the quarterfinal round in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
"We are really excited to be making a trip to Wisconsin as a team," said senior goaltender
Erin Pye. "This is the furthest any of us has ever gotten in our collegiate careers, so to be able to keep playing this far into our senior year means the world to us, and we are going to leave it all out there. It will definitely be a challenge to play the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, but if we come out and play our game together, I think we are going to surprise a lot of people."
During the 2025-26 season, Pye was recognized as NESCAC Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, while seniors
Claire Murphy and
Lucie Bond were named to the All-NESCAC First and Second Teams, respectively. Pye took home two NESCAC Player of the Week accolades, while sophomore
Annie Gallagher earned the award one time. Pye ranks second among the entire NCAA landscape in save percentage (.964) this season.
Two of the great attributes of the Ephs' offense this season are the depth and balance, as 10 student-athletes have registered between 10-19 points. A total of 19 Ephs have tallied two or more points in 2025-26. Fetherston (9 goals, 10 assists), Bond (8 goals, 11 assists) and Littlewood (6 goals, 13 assists) have all compiled 19 points on the season. Littlewood ranks in a tie for the fifth most assists in the NESCAC.
River Falls is the two-time defending national champions at the Division III level. The 2025-26 Falcons (27-1-0, 11-1-0 WIAC) have been led by Megan Goodreau (36 goals, 38 assists) and Sophia Hess (26 goals, 30 assists). Goodreau leads all NCAA Division III women's ice hockey student-athletes this season in goals (1.29), assists (1.36) and points (2.64) per game.
"Heading into the River Falls game, I am super excited to get the chance to play the No. 1 seed and reigning national champion this upcoming weekend," said senior forward
Leah Rubinshteyn. "Especially since we do not typically play many of the Midwest teams in the regular season, I have always been curious how our team's skill set matches up to those teams' style of play. We have had such an incredible year so far with a really special group of girls, and I am excited to carry the momentum from the overtime win this past weekend into Saturday's game. It will definitely be a battle, but I have full confidence in our team, and I cannot think of a better way to end my career than by beating the two-time reigning champion."
