SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union College women's hockey team has announced the incoming freshman class for the upcoming 2015-16 season. The Class of 2019 includes two defensemen, two two-way skaters and two goaltenders from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ontario.
The newcomers include: goaltender Melissa Black (Newmarket, Ontario/Aurora Jr. Panthers), defensemen Arianna Kosakowski (Ashburnham, Mass./The Winchendon School/Assabet Valley), forward/defensemen Kelli Mackey (Sewickley, Penn./Phillips Academy Andover/Team Pittsburgh U19), goaltender Leah Patrick (Hudson, Wisc./Hill-Murray High School), forward/defensemen Jacyn Reeves (Holmen, Wisc./Onalaska High School/Team Wisconsin) and defensemen Sloan Sullivan (Grafton, Wisc./University School of Milwaukee/Team Wisconsin).
Black is an athletic netminder that recovers well between the pipes and is a strong competitor. She appeared in 21 games this past season with the Aurora Jr. Panthers of the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL). With the Panthers in 2014-15, she posted a 1.70 goals-against average with a .945 save percentage to along with five shutouts, finishing with a 9-10-1 record. In 2013-14, Black was 9-6 in 17 games with the Durham West Jr. Lightning also of the PWHL. She registered two shutouts, a 2.18 GAA and a .899 save percentage. She intends to major in sociology.
Kosakowski is a smart player who is a playmaker on defense and sees the ice well. As a junior, she posted 14 goals and 23 assists in 37 games for Winchendon. She finished her career with 14 goals, 30 assists for 44 points. While also playing for the Assabet Valley Club Hockey team, Kosakowski helped lead the team to a state title in 2015, 2011 and 2009 and were National Champions in 2012. As the valedictorian of her high school class for all four year, she plans to major in mathematics.
Mackey possesses a good hockey sense and is a strong and versatile defender. She is coming off a team-leading 33 point (17 goals, 16 assists) season with Phillips Academy Andover of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) which finished the season with a 16-6-3 overall record. Mackey also spent time with the Pomfret School, also of the NEPSAC, from 2011-14. As a member of Team Pittsburgh, Mackey participated in 52 championship games over the course of nine seasons. She was part of the 2010 National Championship team as well as the National Runner-Up squad in 2008. Mackey was also a member of the semi-finalist teams in 2012 and 2015 as well as the quarter-final teams in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014. The Sewickley, PA native was an honor roll member every trimester at Pomfret and was awarded the Cowperthwait Award at Pomfret which is given to the student who demonstrates exceptional qualities of leadership through strength of character, dedication to fair and spirited play, self-discipline, and teamwork. She is undecided on a major.
Patrick is a consistent goaltender who has good size and good techniques. She was 22-2-1 with a 1.25 GAA and seven shutouts in her junior season and was 22-5 with a 1.37 GAA and eight shutouts as a senior, leading Hill-Murray High School to back-to-back Minnesota State Championships. With Hill-Murray, Patrick was also a 4-time conference champion, a 4-time sectional champion and was a member of the Kaposia Tournament Championship team as junior. During her senior season, she was a top-five finalist for Minnesota's Senior Goalie of the Year award, was named All-Conference and Academic All-State. Over the course of her four seasons at Hill-Murray, HMHS amassed a 97-17-5 overall record. At Union, Patrick plans to major in Pre-Med.
Reeves owns good speed, is a hard worker and is looked upon to contribute right away on offense for the Dutchwomen. During her four-year playing career at Onalaska High School, Reeves posted 125 goals and 67 assists for 192 points in 107 career games. She helped OHS to a 71-20 overall record and a second place finish in the state tournament from 2011-2014. Reeves was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014-15 and was a First Team All-State Defense in her junior and senior seasons. She also received the Hobey Baker Sportsmanship Award in 2014-15. Reeves, also a member of Team Wisconsin for the past three seasons, recently recording 16 goals and nine assists for 25 points in 30 games during the 2014-15 season. She is undeclared on a major at this moment.
Sullivan has good stick hands and is a good pass first player. As a senior, Sullivan racked up First Team All-State, First Team All-Conference, First Team All-State Tournament, and State Tournament MVP honors while leading the the University School of Milwaukee to the Wisconsin State Title. Sullivan also spent time with Team Wisconsin during the 2014-15 season and compiled 14 goals and nine assists in 44 games played. As an underclassman, she spent three years playing for Shattuck St. Mary's U16 team and helped them to a National Championship in her sophomore season. Like Mackey and Reeves, she is undecided on a major at this time.
The Dutchwomen, coming off a four win season with a school-record eight ties, will open the 2015-16 at Minnesota State-Mankato on September 25-26.
