Noble and Greenough forward Rachel Zhao’s path to becoming a standout senior on the New England prep scene this season has been anything but ordinary.
Zhao now calls Westwood, Mass., home. But she discovered hockey at an early age in China, where she was raised.
It was love at first sight.
“I was always interested in sports, but I found hockey because I was at a rink (in Beijing) once and I saw kids who were playing around on the ice,” said Zhao, who was 5 years old at the time. “I was like, ‘Oh, I want to do that!’ I’ve always been super competitive, and when I learned more about hockey — contact sport, competitive, fast — I thought it was perfect for me.”
Zhao estimated that there were only three rinks in Beijing when she first started playing organized hockey, initially with and against boys. A successful bid to host the 2022 Olympic Games increased that number and helped grow the sport throughout China.
Her first experience of hockey in the United States came when she was about 12, participating in a one-time exchange program with Assabet Valley Girls Hockey that she and her mother organized together. During that trip with about 20 other female players from Beijing, Zhao was introduced to her future home.
“We learned that Nobles is a great school (and played) some of the best prep hockey in New England,” Zhao said. “That just stuck with us, so when I decided to apply to schools here, Nobles was my first choice.”
The rest is history — and Nobles coach Tom Resor is sure happy about it.
MIDSEASON REPORT: Taking stock of a deep field ahead of the stretch run
Zhao has worked hard to become one of the region’s top players, netting 15 goals and 30 points through 17 games this season. She ranks in the top 10 in prep in goals, assists and points. The Bulldogs have gone 16-1-0 and outscored their opponents by an incredible 76-13 margin during that span, which included winning the Harrington Invitational in December.
“It has really come together for her, and that’s really a tribute to her hard work,” said Resor, who has more than 800 career victories and has led Nobles to 11 New England championships, including the latest in 2024, Zhao’s sophomore year.
“She’s worked, getting better both on and off the ice. She’s stronger, quicker,” Resor added. “She came into last season with sort of a lingering injury from the club season (with the East Coast Wizards), and I think she was never 100 percent. … She scored pretty well as a young kid, but the pucks are really going in for her now.”
Zhao, who has primarily played the right wing on a line with sophomore center Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.) and Princeton-committed junior Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.), describes herself as a fast-skating player with a nose for the puck and who likes driving toward the net to help create offense.
Her offensive totals have jumped with each passing year, including scoring 13 goals and 22 points for a team that went to the Elite 8 quarterfinals last season. She nearly had those marks matched this season before the calendar even turned to 2026, and it didn't take long for her to shatter them early in the new year.
Especially given her untraditional hockey path, Zhao’s year-over-year growth throughout her four varsity seasons has been instrumental. She owes it all to Resor and the Bulldogs for helping her grow into the player she is today.
“I’m so thankful because he took a pretty big gamble on me,” Zhao said. “I don’t think he saw me play before he brought me here in ninth grade because it was COVID at that time, and there was no way to travel between the two countries. He really trusted me before he even saw me, and more so, his trust in me now that he’s had me on the team and been able to play me in some of the difficult situations.”
The Nobles program has developed players for the next level on an annual basis under Resor, including close to two dozen of Zhao’s current and former teammates, but it didn’t take the longtime coach long to realize the type of prospect that he had in Zhao. One trait has stood out for quite some time.
“Even as a freshman, she always had confidence with the puck, and she’s always had really good hands,” Resor said. “She played on the off wing most of her first three years, and one of the reasons why I wasn’t afraid to do that was because that skill was so good. … You play this game a lot with the puck on your stick, and that’s where she doesn’t drop off. That’s a trait a lot of elite players have.”
MIDSEASON REPORT: Where do things stand in girls MIAA hockey before the stretch run?
Zhao is uncommitted, but hopes to be one of the next Bulldogs in line to advance her career to the college level. Five teammates already have their plans secured.
Having taken an incredible hockey journey, the opportunities that the game has and will provide her are sometimes still surreal.
The Bulldogs know all about the hard work that she has taken to get to this point. Now, the rest of New England does as well.
“Coming here, it absolutely felt like following in the footsteps of giants, and it still sometimes feels that way,” said Zhao, who pointed to Yale defender Sophia Levering (Westwood, Mass.) and Brown goaltender Anya Zupkofska (Braintree, Mass.) as two of the many Nobles alumni who have been helpful through the college recruiting process.
“But, I absolutely want to play in college. I know that my process looks a little different because I’ve only been here for about three and a half years, but I’m just going to keep improving as I’ve always done, and hopefully, if opportunities come up, I’ll be ready to take them.”
Resor and longtime assistant Steve Cedorchuk — who also spent more than two decades as an assistant and head coach for the Boston College men’s program — have seen plenty of players come through Nobles, but they especially look forward to seeing how this incredible story ends.
“In this world of early commitments, frankly, I think some people missed her … because she didn’t come all the way through the club world where you get the early looks, so a lot of schools had already committed their spots,” Resor said. “I’m confident that because she’s such a strong student, she’ll have some choices and might be one of those kids who gets to be a late bloomer in a time where there aren’t as many of them.”
