WINTHROP, Mass. (September 17, 2025) – The Stonehill College women's hockey team has been picked to finish third in the 2025 New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league Wednesday afternoon.
Since their inaugural 2022-23 season, the Skyhawks have been projected among the league's top three teams in three of the last four years, including a program-best second-place prediction prior to the 2024-25 campaign.
Reigning NEWHA Champion Sacred Heart was selected as the preseason favorite to defend its title, collecting five first-place votes. LIU followed in second with three first-place nods, while Stonehill
claimed the third spot. Franklin Pierce, Saint Anselm, Assumption, Post, and Saint Michael's rounded out the poll.
Head coach
Lee-J Mirasolo enters her third season at the helm with a roster that returns 16 student-athletes and welcomes seven newcomers. Among the returners are four of the team's top six scorers from a year ago: seniors
Sydney Russell,
Bailey Feeney,
Maddi Achtyl, and
Gracie Sacca, who combined for 34 goals and 39 assists for 73 points. Feeney led the way with 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists.
Russell will captain the Skyhawks for the second straight season. She is joined by senior assistant captains
Brianna Walkom (second year in the role) and Achtyl, who will wear the "A" in her final season in Purple and White.
Between the pipes, Stonehill will turn to sophomore
Alexsa Caron, senior
Eve Stone, and freshman
Nicole Schumm. Caron is back after a stellar rookie campaign in which she earned NEWHA All-Rookie Team honors, highlighted by 10 wins and a .943 save percentage in league play. She also set single-season program records with 1,043 saves and four shutouts.
The incoming class of seven newcomers includes Schumm, along with
Summer Combe,
Payton Palsa,
Maddie Bibeau,
Masyn Mullin,
Kyana Mitchell, and
Bella Sacca—a group expected to make an immediate impact.
The Skyhawks aim to continue building their NEWHA legacy after posting a 14-19-5 overall record in 2024-25, including a 13-10-5 mark in league play, earning the No. 4 seed in the NEWHA Postseason Tournament.
Stonehill opens its 2025-26 campaign this Saturday with an exhibition against Boston College, before beginning regular season play at home with a two-game non-conference series against Syracuse starting on Friday, October 3, at 5 p.m.
2025-26 NEWHA Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
(First-Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Sacred Heart |
47 |
5 |
|
| 2 |
LIU |
44 |
3 |
|
| 3 |
Stonehill |
37 |
|
|
| 4 |
Franklin Pierce |
27 |
|
|
| 5 |
Saint Anselm |
23 |
|
|
| 6 |
Assumption |
22 |
|
|
| 7 |
Post |
16 |
|
|
| 8 |
Saint Michael's |
8 |
|
|
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