Week one out east featured two coaches winning their first games as Division III head coaches. Kalie Grant, head coach of SUNY Canton and Jake Bobrowski, head coach of Elmira, both got the job done in their first games at the helm of their respective teams. There weren’t a ton of games played this weekend involving east teams compared to their western counterparts, but there was still great competition and a game involving a pair of ranked teams.
Head Coach Kalie Grant – SUNY Canton
Coach Kalie Grant, alumnus of St. Lawrence Univ. (Women’s D1), playing all 4 years and holding the assistant captain & captain role, also former Adrian College (Women’s D3) assistant coach, got her first win of her head coaching career as her Canton Roos defeated Lebanon Valley 5-4 on the road. “It was relieving to get the first win as a Head Coach out of the way in the first game of the season. I give all the credit to my players who battled through the highs and lows of the game to come out on top. I truly couldn’t ask for a better group to share this accomplishment with. It is a moment I will forever cherish as a coach.”
Grant, coming from various successful programs, believes the program’s future is bright. “We have something very special in our locker room this year. That is where it all starts. Our group has been extremely receptive to new perspectives and the vision I have for the program, which has driven all of us to show up each day with a strong work ethic and lots of energy. Finding a way to maintain this mentality throughout the entire season will be important in continuing our success.”
Grant and her Roos’ next games are home: 3pm ET Friday vs Buffalo State and 3pm ET Saturday vs Oswego State.
Head Coach Jake Bobrowski – Elmira College
Coach Jake Bobrowski, former Hamline (Women’s D3) assistant coach and Univ. of Minnesota (Women’s D1) assistant coach, got his first win as a head coach for his Elmira Soaring Eagles, defeating Utica University 3-2 at home. Talking with Coach Bobrowski about his first win and how he’s been interacting with his team so far: “It was very exciting, too exciting with the game being very very close! They are a great group of young women. They are a group that wants to learn, wants to get better, and they seemed to have welcomed me into the Elmira family.”
Facing a team like Utica who has their hopes set on a big year, returning many players and looking to maintain what they built last season, Coach Bobrowski was very pleased with his team’s effort and their outlook moving forward:
“First and foremost Utica is a very good team. We knew that going in it wasn’t going to be easy and it wasn’t. What I liked about the win was we had to come from behind against a well coached team with a very good goalie and who plays the game really tough, they don’t give you much, especially down the middle. After the first period, we talked about challenging ourselves and doing the simple things we have worked on in practice and can we play with some toughness ourselves. I think as the game went on we became more comfortable and took steps to gain a new identity with a new team and obviously with new coaches.”
Elmira’s next games this weekend are both on the road. 6pm ET Friday vs Univ. Southern Maine, then 3pm ET Saturday vs Salem State Univ.
Ranked Matchup of the Week – #9 vs #11
#11 Norwich visited #9 Endicott Tuesday night, coming away with the 5-2 victory over the Gulls. Mikah Baptiste scored 2 for Norwich, her first goal coming in early, 2:59 into the first period to make it 1-0.
Other notable performances on the night were from Norwich’s Ann-Frederique Guay who tallied 1 goal, 3 assists and goaltender Leocadia Clark who made 31 saves on 33 shots. For Endicott, goaltender Michaela O’Brien who made 35 saves on 40 shots and Kaylee Liberty who was a factor on both of the Gulls’ goals, tallied a goal and an assist.
A win against a #9 Endicott is big for the Norwich program who saw themselves have a down year last year to their normal standards, losing their last 3 out of 4 games, exiting in the NEHC semifinals to Castleton. A win like this, coming early in the season, can be one that helps drive them to a successful season and a potential NCAA Tournament berth.
Other Notable Results
Oswego State fell to the visiting #10 Adrian 4-1 & 5-0. Full recap here:
Hilbert College, dropped their first ever regular season games as a program, losing 11-1 to Alvernia and then 7-0 to Lebanon Valley.
#3 Plattsburgh swept St. Michael’s in their two exhibition games, defeating them 2-1 & 6-0.
Ranked Teams in Action This Weekend
#3 Plattsburgh begins their regular-season games, visiting SUNY Morrisville for a pair of games, Friday 4pm ET / Saturday 1pm ET.
#4 Elmira visits Univ. Southern Maine & Salem State, Friday – 6pm ET / Saturday – 3pm ET
#6 Nazareth, coming off a historical season for the program with a 27-2 record, hosts fellow UCHC opponent Chatham for a pair of games, Friday 7pm ET / Saturday 3pm ET.
#9 Endicott play a home-and-home with Nichols, Friday on the road at 4:40pm ET & 4pm ET Saturday at home.
#11 Norwich hosts Johnson & Wales and UMass-Boston, Friday 6pm ET / Saturday 3pm ET.
#14 SUNY Cortland hosts Stevenson for a pair of games, Friday 3pm ET / Saturday 3pm ET.
This weekend should show us more in terms of rankings and ability levels as all non-NESCAC teams will begin regular season play. NESCAC will begin play Friday November 18 as the defending champions #1 Middlebury hosts Trinity for a pair of home games.
