Amherst Athletics

Women's Ice Hockey

Amherst Falls to UW-River Falls in NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Semifinals

RIVER FALLS, Wis. - UW-River Falls converted two early power-play goals and Jordan O'Kane made 30 saves as the two-time defending national champion Falcons defeated Amherst 3-1 in an NCAA Division III Semifinal on Friday night before 1,511 fans at Hunt Arena.

River Falls won their 25th straight game to advance to the NCAA Championship Game where it will face Nazareth who rallied to beat Norwich, 5-4 in overtime. The Falcons are seeking their third straight national championship.

The Falcons (29-1-0) struck quickly on each of their first two power plays to seize control. Alexa Niccum opened the scoring at 10:12 of the first period, converting just 44 seconds into the man advantage off feeds from Megan Goodreau and Sophia Hess. Goodreau then scored what proved to be the game-winner at 2:24 of the second period, burying a rebound 53 seconds into another Amherst penalty, with Hess and MaKenna Aure drawing assists.

Madison Kadrlik extended the lead to 3-0 at even strength at 12:32 of the second, finishing a play set up by Kailey Niccum and Addie Seleski. The River Falls' defense was stingy. The Falcons blocked 10 Amherst shots and limited the Mammoths to just seven shots in the third period.

Maeve Reynolds broke up O'Kane's shutout bid with a power-play goal at 16:54 of the third period, converting assists from Marie-Eve Marleau and Bea Flynn. Amherst pulled goalie Natalie Stott for an extra attacker with two minutes remaining, but a too-many-players-on-the-ice penalty in the final seconds ended any comeback hopes.

Stott made 30 saves in the loss for Amherst (20-3-6) as the Mammoths saw their seven-game win streak halted.

The seven seniors in Amherst's Class of 2026 conclude their careers after authoring a four-year stretch that included three NESCAC Championships, three appearances in the NCAA Semifinals, two national runner-up finishes and a record of 91-17-9. Stott, just the third four-time First Team All-American in Division III history, ends her career with 86 wins, 45 shutouts, and a career .960 save percentage, all NCAA Division III records.