16 takeaways from 2025 girls All-NEPSAC selections

The offseason is just about in full swing with the NEPSAC girls hockey championships drifting further in the rearview mirror.

Loomis Chaffee took down Phillips Andover in an Elite 8 championship thriller. Meanwhile, Deerfield blanked Tabor for the Large School title, and New Hampton cruised to a third straight Small School title, beating St. Mark's.

Now comes the part for individual recognition as we look back on the season.

The All-NEPSAC and Most Valuable Player selections, as voted by the coaches, came out Wednesday with some of the region’s top talent as the headliners.

Let’s dive into this year’s All-NEPSAC teams, plus some takeaways from the selections.

Player of the Year

• Lindsay Stepnowski, Loomis Chaffee, jr.

Takeaways

1. What a season it was for Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.). The Harvard commit flat-out dominated and was consistently the best player on the ice for a loaded Loomis Chaffee squad. She finished with 25 goals (tied second in prep), and her 44 points were fourth in prep. Most importantly, Stepnowski found a new level in the playoffs. She had six points (five goals) in three playoff games, helping guide the Pelicans to the Elite 8 title.
2. Stepnowski is more than deserving, but I will say, I was pretty surprised to see it wasn't Thayer's Morgan McGathey (Braintree, Mass.), a fellow Harvard commit, taking the honors. The senior posted one of the best single seasons in recent NEPSAC history as her 39 goals were the most in a season since Colgate's Kristýna Kaltoynková scored 45 at Vermont Academy in 2019-20. McGathey was well ahead of the field for goals (14 clear of second place), and her 59 points were 13 clear of second place.

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Elite Division

Forwards

• Hannah Weyerhaeuser, BB&N, sr.
• Madi Soderquist, Cushing, jr.
• Evelyn Doyle, Dexter Southfield, jr.
• Maddie Cronan, Groton, sr.
• Tina Scalese, Groton, jr.
• Annie Schwarz, Loomis Chaffee, jr.
• Lindsay Stepnowski, Loomis Chaffee, jr
• Calleigh Brown, Nobles, sr.
• Molly MacCurtain, Nobles, sr.
• Emily Mara, Phillips Andover, sr.
• Peyton Kennedy, Phillips Andover, sr.
• Nora Curtis, Williston Northampton, sr.

Defense

• Emi Biotti, BB&N, sr.
• Maddie Murphy, Dexter Southfield, sr.
• Megan Hosman, Loomis Chaffee, jr.
• Molly Boyle, Phillips Andover, sr.

Goalies

• Sadie Bellissimo, Cushing, jr.
• Olivia Ferebee, Williston Northampton, sr.

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Takeaways

1. It says so much about the depth of the talent pool in the NEPSAC this season that so many honorable mentions had legitimate cases to make, particularly among the forwards. Williston's Violet Carroll (Milton, Mass.) finished third in points (45) and led the NEPSAC with 30 assists. Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.) scored over 20 goals and 40 points to lead Nobles as a freshman. Cushing's Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.) was tied for second with 25 goals and in the top five for points with 43. Sarah Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.) was tied for Andover's lead in goals (14) and finished second on the team with 26 points.
2. They got it right with the blue-liners. There's a real argument to make that they were the four absolute best defenders in prep this season. They certainly were for my money.
3. Good to see Williston's Alyssa Frazier (Berlin, Vt.) get some love in the honorable mentions. She was one of the most effective all-around defenders I saw all season.
4. Not that Ferebee or Bellissimo weren't the right choices, but it was interesting to see Nobles' Annika Jonas (Westwood, Mass.) didn't at least earn an honorable mention. The sophomore excelled in her first year as the starter, facing a heavy workload and finished with one of the best save percentages in prep (.950).

Large School

Forwards

• Faith Steiner, Austin Prep, sr.
• Sophia Busa, Berkshire, jr.
• Nani Keyes, Choate, sr.
• Jen Birolini, Tabor, jr.
• Lilly Shaughnessy, Tabor, jr.
• Renee Bishop, Kent, jr.
• Mary Quatrale, Milton Academy, jr.
• Maria Gray, Phillips Exeter, jr.
• Paisley Meyer, Phillips Exeter, so.
• Caroline Humber, St. Paul's, sr.
• Erin Flaherty, St. Paul's, so.
• Kate Sullivan, Thayer, sr.
• Morgan McGathey, Thayer, sr.

Defense

• Allie Corrieri, Deerfield, sr.
• Chloe Cleaves, Deerfield, jr.
• Elle Price, Greenwich Country Day, sr.
• Rachel Bishop, Kent, jr.
• Susannah Ward, Milton Academy, sr.

Goalies

• Julia Echavarria, Berkshire, sr.
• Campbell Krotee, Deerfield, sr.
• Avery Olson, Tabor, sr.

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Takeaways

1. Like the Elite selections, there is so much firepower among this forward group. With McGathey, Sullivan (Hingham, Mass.), Gray, Meyer (Greenland, N.H.), Bishop, Birolini (Pembroke, Mass.) and more, you wouldn't be hard-pressed for a goal (or several). The same goes for the honorable mentions among Thayer's Wren Abboud (Weymouth, Mass.), Exeter's Erin Sears (Cornwall, Vt.), Deerfield's Sophie Frost and Middlesex's Janie Martin, among others.
2. No surprises on defense, really. Bishop popped this season with 26 points (20 assists). It was a massive step up from five points (four assists) as a sophomore. It was also a blast to see how much of Deerfield's game flowed through the back end with Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.) and Corrieri (Devens, Mass.). They were big difference-makers in transition. I only saw Milton during the Harrington Tournament this year, but Ward (Dedham, Mass.) was a lot of fun to watch, impacting the play in all three zones and leading transition effectively.
3. Interesting to see Thayer's Abby DeAnzeris (Needham, Mass.) as an honorable mention. The junior was near the top of prep defenders in terms of production with 30 points (25 assists).
4. No surprises with the goalies, either. All three were immensely important to their team's success. Krotee (Darien, Conn.) and Olson (Rockport, Mass.) gave us a goalie battle for the ages in the Large School final.

Small School

Forwards

• Lexi Davies, Brewster, sr.
• Geena Cookingham, Lawrence Academy, sr.
• Kayla Rice, Lawrence Academy, sr.
• Kaylin O'Connor, Mount St. Charles, sr.
• Keira Goffe, Mount St. Charles, sr.
• Kelsey Baker, New Hampton, jr.
• Kennedy Walker, New Hampton, jr.
• Carah Ford, St. George's, fr.
• Maddie Lahah, St. George's, jr.
• Ella Lefebvre, St. Mark's, sr.
• Maribeth Fitzgerald, St. Mark's, jr.
• Maria Gilshannon, Frederick Gunn, so.
• Sofia Cuozzo, Frederick Gunn, sr.
• Lana Hardin, Governor's, jr.
• Simone Burns, Rivers, fr.

Defense

• True Thompson, New Hampton, sr.
• Mia MacDonald, Rivers, fr.

Goalies

• Jackie Wright, St. Mark's, sr.
• Liz Luong, Governor's, jr.

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Takeaways

1. A big diversion from the previous two teams with a freshman, let alone four, included among the Small School selections. I wonder how much that'll change in coming years. Last year, there wasn't a single freshman among the All-NEPSAC teams or honorable mentions.
2. Very surprised to see Tilton's Evelyn Lacey (Braintree, Mass.) as just an honorable mention. That doesn't take anything at all away from Wright (Walpole, Mass.) and Luong (Framingham, Mass.), either. Each had tremendous seasons and were vital to their teams, especially Wright, leading St. Mark's to the Small School final. Nobody in prep saw more shots or made more saves than Lacey (over 1,110 in both categories), though, and she managed to finish with a .956 save percentage, a top mark among starters. She'll play at Tabor and reclassify to the Class of 2027 next season.
3. Not a lot of defenders here, although Cuozzo can play both forward and defense. One name I would have had in there: Brewster's Megan Tremblay. Although, Davies is listed both on the All-Small School list and in the honorable mentions, so maybe one of those was supposed to be Tremblay. Regardless, Tremblay led all prep defenders with 25 goals from the blue line, leading Brewster by a considerable margin (10 ahead of Davies). She was also second among NEPSAC defenders with 34 points.
4. No surprises with Thompson and MacDonald (Walpole, Mass.) on defense, though. Thompson was other-worldly to close out the season. The UConn-bound defender finished the season with 25 points in her last 11 games, including a seven-game point streak to close the year. MacDonald, meanwhile, was a crucial piece to a potent offense at Rivers, especially the power play. She posted 18 points (six goals).
5. For the most part, there are no surprises here with the forwards. Walker (Middleton, Mass.) had a monster season for New Hampton, which had at least six different skaters with cases to make for recognition. Cookingham (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.) and Rice (Walpole, Mass.) were vital to Lawrence Academy making it back to the playoffs. The same goes for Lahah (North Attleboro, Mass.) at St. George's. O'Connor (Smitfield, R.I.) and Goffe (Smitfield, R.I.) helped make up one of the most productive offenses in the region at Mount.
6. Piper Smith is someone I would have tabbed to make the All-Small School list. The senior forward earned honorable mention after scoring 20 goals and 32 points in 24 games for Millbrook.