Women's hockey is set to play its first game on Oct. 17 against Boston College. With the season on the doorstep, the team announced its three captains for the 2025-2026 season: senior defenders Grace Dwyer and Sarah MacEachern, and senior forward Mckenna Van Gelder.
This season's leadership group — like last year’s — features all seniors.
Dwyer is a blueliner from Pennsylvania. Her younger sister and occasional defensive partner, Rose, also plays for the team. Dwyer brings both talent and experience to the leadership group, having suited up in 101 career games for the Red. She has also been invited to Team USA camps and represented her country at the U-18 World Championships before joining the Red.
Last season, she tallied the third-most points of any Cornell blueliner. It's not just her offensive prowess that makes her game special; she is also an exceptional stay-at-home defender.
“Being an athlete at Cornell has been wonderful because the work here is challenging and forces you to buckle down and work hard [while] also having our sports to play,” Dwyer told The Sun last season.
Dwyer led the Red in penalty minutes last season and added 36 blocked shots in her 35 games. She shines in the physical and often undervalued moments of the game.
A fundamentally sound defender, Dwyer was named to the ECAC all-tournament team last season. During the tournament, she assisted on both goals in the 2-1 triple-overtime semifinal win over Clarkson. In the championship game, Dwyer added an assist on the eventual game winner of the 5-1 rout of Colgate.
Joining Dwyer in the leadership group is fellow defender MacEachern. A native of Canoe Cove, Prince Edward Island, MacEachern won gold for her country at the U-18 World Championships. Despite missing considerable time due to injuries, MacEachern is no stranger to big games. Her lone points came in a 7-1 NCAA tournament victory over Stonehill College.
Rounding out the captaincy trio is Van Gelder. An Ontario native, Van Gelder also represented her country at the U-18 World Championships alongside MacEachern before her time at Cornell.
The forward of the bunch, Van Gelder, finished last season third on the team in points with 23. In addition to her playmaking and goalscoring ability, she also has a complete two-way game — she led the Red with 51 blocked shots last season and was a vital player in puck possession, adding 337 faceoff wins.
All three captains have playoff experience and bring a stereotypical Cornell tenacity to their games. These three senior leaders will hope to lead the Red on one last run at the ultimate prize.
