William Smith first-year goalie Julia Echavarria was named the SUNYAC Women's Hockey Rookie of the Week today following her collegiate debut on Friday night.
 
Echavarria backstopped the Herons to a 3-2 victory on Friday night against Manhattanville. She stopped 30 of the 32 shots she faced. Echavarria made six saves in the first period. The Valiants turned up the pressure in the middle frame, but Echavarria was up to the task, stopping all 12 shots in the period. She made 12 more stops in the third period, including four in the final minute of the frame while Manhattanville pushed for the equalizer. Echavaria's final two stops came in the last two seconds of regulation while the Valiants were on the power play and had their goalie pulled in favor of an extra attacker. Echavarria finished the game with a 2.00 GAA and a .938 save percentage.
 
William Smith, which is receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll, concluded the 2025 portion of its schedule Saturday with a 3-0 shutout of the Valiants. Junior Mia Iwicki made 27 saves as she earned her second shutout of the season.
 
The Herons head into the holiday break with a 7-3-0 overall record. It is their best start to a season since 2019-20, when they were also 7-3-0. William Smith is 3-1-0 in SUNYAC play and sits in second place in the league standings with six points.