SCHENECTADY, NY—The Union College women's ice hockey team has announced its incoming first-year class for the 2016-17 season. The Class of 2020 features six forwards, two defensemen and three goaltenders.

The forwards are comprised of Rachel de Perio (Buffalo, NY/Nichols School/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles U19), Cheyenne Harris (Minneapolis, MN/Breck School), Katelynn Russ (Crystal Lake, IL /Upper Fox Valley/Chicago Young Americans U19), Jordi Naidrich (Newton, PA/Lawrenceville School/New Jersey Rockets), Haley Shugart (Toronto, Ont./Toronto Jr. Aeros) and Bridgit Sullivan (Saranac Lake, NY/Northwood School).

Rachel de Perio comes to Union from Nichols School of the North American Prep Hockey Association (NAPHA), where she was a key contributor to a program that captured its fourth consecutive league championship in 2015. De Perio also played for the Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles U19 team.
 
During her senior season at Breck School, Harris compiled five goals and a team-best 23 assists for 28 points, helping the team advance to the section final. Breck finished the season with an overall record of 21-4-0, ranking second in the state in the final Minnesota High School rankings.
 
Naidrich posted the best statistical season of her career in her final season at Lawrenceville School, finishing second on the team with 10 goals and 13 points and earning First Team All-State honors. She also appeared in 12 games with the New Jersey Rockets of the New England Women's Junior Hockey League (NEWJHL), producing five goals and one assists for six points.
 
Russ was named the 2016 Cammi Granato High School Player of the Year in Illinois after leading the league with 57 goals and 31 assists for 88 points in just 23 games. She also appeared in 60 games with the Chicago Young Americans Hockey Organization, registering 48 goals and 33 assists for 81 points.

Shugart will be another offensive weapon for the Dutchwomen. She led the Toronto Jr. Aeros of the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) with 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points, placing her fifth in the league in scoring. She also propelled the Aeros to a league championship, finishing as the joint top scorer in the postseason with 13 points on six goals, including three game-winning goals, and seven assists.

In her senior season at Northwood School of the North American Prep Hockey Association (NAPHA), Sullivan captained Northwood White, which finished the season with an overall record of 15-9-4 and captured the inaugural Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL) Girls' Championship.   
 
Bolstering the Dutchwomen's blueline are Abby Ellis (Warwick, RI/Tabor Academy/Mass Spitfires U19) and Ava Reynolds (Aurora, CO/Keller High School/Northern Cyclones).

In 2014, Ellis recorded nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points for the Warwick Co-Op team that became the first public school girls hockey team to win the Rhode Island Division I state title. Ellis received First-Team All-State honors and was named the 2014 Cranston Online Female Athlete of the Year.  

Reynolds played all 30 league games for the Northern Cyclones of the NEWJHL last season, registering one goal and six assists for seven points and helping the Cyclones to their second consecutive league championship. The Cyclones finished the season with an overall record of 27-1-2, allowing just 31 goals against in those contests.
 
Between the pipes Union adds Amelia Murray (McHenry, IL/Upper Fox Valley/Chicago Young Americans), Kate Spooner (Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia/Pro Cresting Penguins) and Celine Tessier (Chapleau, Ont./Nepean Jr. Wildcats).
 
Murray was an All-State selection with Upper Fox Valley of the Amateur Ice Hockey Association Illinois (AHAI). She appeared in nine games between the pipes, leading the league with a .940 save percentage and ranking second with a 1.57 goals against average. She also played in three games with the Chicago Young Americans of the High Performance Hockey League (HPHL), posting a 0.87 goals against average and a .974 save percentage with one shutout.

Tessier comes to Union from the Nepean Jr. Wildcats of the PWHL, where she compiled a record of 11-5-4 with five shutouts. She finished second in the league with a 1.15 goals against average and a .949 save percentage and held a 2.21 goals against average in three postseason contests.

Spooner is coming off a season with the Pro Cresting Penguins of the Nova Scotia Female Midget AAA Hockey League (NSFMHL) that saw her produce a record of 13-6-4 with a 1.50 goals against average.  She also notched back-to-back wins in the league semifinal, recording a 0.94 goals against average and backstopping her team to the league final.

The Dutchwomen, who embark on their first season under head coach Josh Sciba, host Concordia University (Quebec) in an exhibition September 24 before opening the regular season with a pair of home contests against Connecticut Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.