By Hayden Randolph
TAMPA, Fla. — In their first game of the season, The University of Tampa’s Women’s Ice Hockey team took a loss of 7-1 to Liberty University of Virginia in their 7:15 p.m. game at Clearwater Arena.
Taking a risk after tryouts, UTampa played several new additions to the team. Annaka Gendron, president of UTampa women’s ice hockey, reflects on how they played in their introductory game.
“The new girls I think fit in well with our playing style, and I think having those additions will only make us better,” she said. “Now we just have to work on who plays better together and work on our chemistry on and off the ice.”
As the newest team in a different league, the Spartans lost by a sizable margin to the Eagles. Mia Moffit, a freshman player and new addition to the team, scored UTampa’s only goal of the game in the second period.
Gendron said she thinks the team performed better than the score reflected.
“I think that the team played well overall with one practice, 7 new players, and probably not a lot of ice time over the summer.”
However, Gendron also gave insight into what she believes hurt the team in their first game of the season.
“I think that what killed us was that we weren’t able to finish the majority of our passes or plays with getting the puck to the net,” she said. “We looked a little out of shape which is understandable because a lot of us probably didn’t play over the summer at this level. But I think it was a good first game and gives us something to work on and prepare for.”
Drew Ducolon, a junior player, agrees that the team played an overall good game and wants to play Liberty University again.
“We had a couple of miscommunications in front of the net that led to a high scoring game and I thought the 1-7 score didn’t completely reflect the game we played,” she said. “Liberty played a great game and I would love it if we could play them again further down the road to see our progression as a team.”
As of February 2025, Liberty University was ranked first in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA)’s Southeast Division, the league the Spartans joined this season. Liberty will play again Sept. 14 against South Carolina.
New to the ACHA, the league represents teams from 48 states and 461 colleges around the United States. It expresses its mission to facilitate the growth of hockey in the United States. The league is not associated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and gives college students a “non-varsity” option to compete.
Ducolon reflects on the new competition and opportunities the league will bring to UTampa Women’s Ice Hockey.
“Entering into the ACHA this season is going to allow for many more opportunities for the team,” she said. “It is a great step in the right direction and will hopefully lead to more success and recognition for UTampa’s Women’s Ice Hockey.”
Avery Gugliotta, vice president of UTampa women’s ice hockey, agrees that this league will bring new opportunities as well as put a spotlight on hockey teams from the south.
“This is a big step for us and will push us to take our team to new levels,” she said. “When talking about hockey, people automatically think of schools up north. Joining this league is also helping us to build hockey in the south and prove that the hardworking teams here are just as skilled, driven, and accomplished as those predominant schools in the north.”
UTampa Women’s Hockey was previously a part of College Hockey South, a much smaller league representing eight states, 29 schools, and 45 teams in the southeastern United States.
Gugliotta thinks that the team will learn from this loss and the mistakes that were made.
“This loss for us was a learning moment,” she said. “We went into the game with the mentality of wanting to win of course, however, we also knew that whatever the outcome was, we were learning what was working and what wasn’t.”
UTampa women’s hockey will compete again Sept. 19-21 when they go to Georgia for the Columbus Classic to face teams from Auburn, South Florida, Alabama, Miami, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. UTampa, the reigning champions, will defend their title after winning back-to-back tournaments in 2023 and 2024.
While feeling the emotions of the team’s loss, Gendron tells what she is looking forward to the most this season.
“This season I definitely look forward to having fun with the team and hopefully, bringing home a nationals trophy by the end of the season,” she said. “Coming in second two years in a row will make us more competitive and driven to get that win!”
––
Photo courtesy of Hayden Randolph.