By Emma Deo
The Plattsburgh State women’s hockey team’s road to the NCAA championship ended in the first round of the tournament with a 1-0 loss to the Elmira Soaring Eagles.
Despite the final score, the Cardinals dominated control of the ice from the face-off final buzzer, outshooting Elmira 40-17 and winning 44 out of 65 face-offs.
Graduate student forward Mae Olshansky led the Cards with six shots on goal in her final game at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena, while three players had five shots.
Plattsburgh State will also graduate fifth-year forward Ciara Wall, senior forward Bridget Orr and senior defender Mattie Norton after this season.
“I think we controlled a lot of the game. We were in their zone a ton. We gave them some opportunities every once in a while, but I honestly think their goaltending and their defensive play really stuck out to us,” Norton said.
Plattsburgh finished their season 20-7-1, 14-3-1, and Elmira (21-8-1, 14-3-1) ultimately fell to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons 4-1 in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
The Cards came out hot, bombarding the Soaring Eagles’ first-year goalie Sara Sevcikova with 15 shots in the first period, including the first seven of the game, but Plattsburgh could not find the back of the net.
Plattsburgh’s best look of the period came from Wall, where she found herself open in the slot and tried to send the puck top-shelf, but it hit the bottom of the upper pipe and came back out onto the ice.
“For some reason, the puck wasn’t bouncing the way we needed it to, and sometimes that’s just the way the game happens,” Norton said.
Plattsburgh had the power play opportunity at the 11:14 mark of the first period but could not convert even with the extra skater. Immediately after, the Cards committed a minor tripping penalty, giving Elmira the advantage. Senior Elmira forward Erika Goleniak took control of a rebound to put the Soaring Eagles up 1-0.
“I think it was a little bit of luck. It was one of those things where we get tied up in front, can’t shift back to the other side defensively and a rebound bounced in for them in the right spot at the right time,” Norton said.
Defense has been the key for Plattsburgh State all season. This was the fourth short-handed goal the Cardinals allowed in 72 total chances this year.
“We relied on our penalty kill a lot, and they’ve done great for us all year, so we can’t blame them or anything like that,” Olshansky said. “It was just that when Elmira got their opportunity, they capitalized on it.”
The Cards were unable to find the equalizer, but Plattsburgh kept its foot on the gas pedal. It continued to outshoot the Soaring Eagles in the second and third periods, 14-5 and 11-5, respectively, but the Elmira goaltender posted a 40-save shutout.
The Cards were only shutout on four other occasions in the 2024-2025 season, while Plattsburgh won via shutout 11 times.
“In between periods, we were saying we’re not nervous, we’re getting chances, one’s gonna go in, we’re peppering this goalie, one’s gotta go in,” Olshansky said.
Sophomore goalie Chloe Lewis stood on her head for the remainder of the matchup, finishing the game with one goal allowed and 16 saves. Junior forward Molly Riggi was also dominant for the Cards, winning 17 of 21 faceoff attempts.
“There was a good, positive energy throughout the whole game, which was the most disappointing and heartbreaking part of it,” Norton said.
The shots did not stop coming from Plattsburgh State, even in the last few minutes. The Cards were able to use a timeout with less than a minute to go, with Olshansky and Wall taking shots in the final few seconds, but Sevcikova saved everything that came her way, and the Soaring Eagles held on for the 1-0 win.
“Our defensive zone, in general, was locked down for the entire postseason. I mean, in three games, we only gave up one goal; you can’t really ask for anything better than that,” Olshansky said.
The Final Four
The Soaring Eagles will face off against the defending national champions of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, who are coming off of a perfect 2023-24 season, where they went 31-0-0. It was a record breaking season, as it marked the most single-season wins in Division III women’s ice hockey history.
There has only been one other perfect season in Division III women’s ice hockey, which belonged to the Middlebury College Panthers. This was also the University of Wisconsin-River Falls’ first national title.
The Falcons are currently on a nine game win streak and will next take on the Augsburg Auggies in the NCAA semifinals March 28.
In their last matchup, the Falcons took down the Auggies 2-1 in an overtime shootout after finishing regulation tied 4-4.
On the other side of the bracket, Middlebury will battle the Amherst College Mammoths on March 28 in another semifinal matchup. To advance, Middlebury defeated the Nazareth University Golden Flyers 1-0 and Amherst dominated Colby College 4-1.
The NCAA championship game is set for Sunday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m. in River Falls, Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin-River Falls serves as the first predetermined host of the Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship.
