On Feb. 19, the Women’s Club Hockey team made history, finishing an undefeated regular season with a win over Towson University for the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference championship.

“The best thing about it is that since freshman year Towson has won, and being able to defeat them my senior year and be able to go out on this high note is something that’s incredible,” assistant captain Theresa Thompson ’17, said. “It’s everything I could have ever wanted.”

The 20-member squad took on Loyola University first before advancing to the finals to face Towson, the conference’s defending champion.

Co-assistant captain Taylor Hallisey ’18, remembers the team’s regular season home game against Towson as “a benchmark for the team,” she said, “We came out with a fire in us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our team play that well before.”

Going home with the trophy was a culmination of the most successful season in team history. The squad was started in 2006 by University student Hilary Murphy and her father, Bob. They didn’t win a game until their second season, and the last trip to playoffs was a stroke of luck five years ago, when four teams in the conference’s Southern division forfeited their spots due to injuries and travel complications.

“Everyone called it southern hospitality,” Thompson said.

This season, the team remained undefeated by all teams in their conference and lost only once, to a non-conference team.

 “When I was a senior looking into college, I saw the team’s DVCHC record and they were 0-8,” Hallisey said. “I was just like well, at least I’ll get to play. And maybe winning’s not all that matters. And it’s still not. But the fact that we went from 0-8 to 10-0 in just four years is impressive.”

The difference this year was cohesion, according to the captains. After a first game win over Westchester University, a tough competitor outside of their conference, the team’s momentum carried.

“It was our first game and we beat a team we’ve never beat before,” Thompson said. “That’s when we realized, this is our year.”

Led by head coach Kirk Llewellyn and Assistant Coaches Laura Webb and John Wang, the team will travel to Columbus, Ohio on March 14 for a run at the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Championship.