Over Thanksgiving Break, the Villanova women’s ice hockey team finished out its 2024 competition with wins over SUNY Brockport and Penn in its end-of-the-year conference showcase, by scores of 9-1 and 14-3, respectively.
With this, the Wildcats finished the year second in the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) in Division II of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), with a 9-6 record.
Though not considered a varsity sport, WICE, as the team likes to be called, is one of the most successful athletic programs at the University. In the Spring, the team clinched the title for the DVCHC for the first time after coming close for many years. This led the Wildcats to their third appearance competing in the national championship, where they finished 12th overall but maintained #1 in the Southeast Region for the entire 2023-24 season.
Now heading into this season the team is looking to maintain the consistency and momentum and adjust to the new look of the team after some key seniors graduated in the spring. Luckily for the Wildcats, the freshmen seem to be adjusting really quickly, making up half of Villanova’s top 10 scorers for the year.
Keeping her title from last year, junior forward Camryn Browne leads Villanova in scoring and assists with 14 goals already on the season and 19 assists. Also strong is freshman forward Kyla O’Bryne with 13 goals, while sophomore forward Elise Payne and freshman forward Peyton Williams are each tied for third with nine goals apiece. For her part, junior goalie Nadia Balduf has a save percentage of .894, saving 261 out of 292 shots.
“We love our freshmen to death,” co-captain Jasmine Masino said. “We love when we can rely on the beginning part of the season on our older players because we know we can trust them and we know how they play, but it’s awesome to see the younger crowd get into it and just make their way onto the team. Eventually everybody moves up and out so it’s nice for us to see that the team will be in good hands when we’re out of here.”
“[Camryn Browne] is also awesome,” co-captain Annalise Monopoli said. “She’s one of the juniors that’s just such a leader on and off the ice for our team. And especially now [Peyton Williams], who maybe in the beginning of the season did not get as much credit she deserved, is killing it.”
However, looming over Villanova in first place is Liberty University, which is new in the DVCHC conference. Sitting at the top with a 17-1 record, the Flames are going to be a hard team to catch up to. But for now, the Wildcats are focusing on one thing at a time and improving consistency and stability.
“I feel like we also are inconsistent sometimes with days we show up, days we don’t show up to play,” Monopoli said. “I think when we show up, we show up and we’re very good. When everyone’s in it and working hard, it’s like, no one can compete with us. It’s just bringing that level every game. We’re the best team, hands down and we need to show that every single time we play.”
“Energy is huge,” Masino said.” When the bench is loud, when people are talking, it’s so much more impactful than quiet stands or things like that.”
Moving into 2025, the team is looking to replicate the success they had last season and keep the championship cup in its possession while making it back to nationals.
“I think eyes are definitely on the DVC playoffs,” Monopoli said. “And nationals just come kind of with that. I think expectations at nationals are definitely high. Last year, I think we went in a little not sure what to expect. If you asked our coach, he would say he wants us to end up in the top four. We have to win our division at nationals, so the top four. So it’s a lofty goal.”
“The first time we’d won the cup we had to prove ourselves to everybody who was watching,” Masino said. “ So I think our biggest thing this year is that we want that cup back. We want to keep it and then move forward to Nationals and do better.”
